Where Rory's Story Resumes
by JuceMare
Summary: This story picks up right before the "final 4 words" of the Year in the Life Revival. It opens with Lorelai and Rory sitting on the steps of the gazebo. Lorelai senses Rory is preoccupied and asks what's on her mind. Rory decides to tell her. It starts out following the end of AYITL but goes AU because it is a story that has not been told.
1. Chapter 1: Rory's Reveals her Secret

Where Rory's Story Resumes

The characters in this story are the sole rights of Warner Brothers and Amy Sherman-Paladino. I have no ownership of them, just pure love for them.

This story picks up right before the "final 4 words" of the Year in the Life Revival. It opens with Lorelai and Rory sitting on the steps of the gazebo.

The characters in this story are the sole rights of Warner Brothers and I have no ownership of them, just pure love for them.

After her spur of the moment dream-like wedding, Lorelai and Rory sit on the top step of the gazebo staring out at the beautiful town square decorated for the planned wedding ceremony that is to take place later that day. They are both exhausted, and yet at the same time, exhilarated. Lorelai looked over at Rory and noticed that she looks a little somber. She asked her what's on her mind, and Rory decided to tell her.

Chapter 1

"How can I be so tired but so awake at the same time? I need to get some sleep if I'm going to stay awake for the second ceremony this afternoon." Lorelai moaned to Rory. Rory mumbled something indistinct toward Lorelai. When Lorelai looked over at Rory, she noticed that she seemed sad or preoccupied.

"Hey, you okay? Look at me, Rory. What's up with you?" Lorelai gently coaxed.

Rory looked over at her mother. She looks so happy, so beautiful. In her mind, she is thinking about how the news she has to share is going to break her mother's heart. She wanted more for Rory. Rory was supposed to "do life the right way," whatever that means.

Rory spoke the words that have been hanging on the tip of her tongue for several weeks.

"Mom."

Lorelai answered, "Yeah."

"I'm pregnant," Rory uttered.

Lorelai was speechless. She looked at Rory with surprise, her chin dropping to her chest and her eyes just about bugging out of her face.

"Wh...wh...uh...uh...uh...ar...ar...are you sure? Are you serious? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Nice joke, you really had me going there for a minute!"

Rory hung her head and began to cry. The tears that she had been holding back since she found out she was pregnant flowed from her eyes like someone had opened a dam. She was sobbing and shaking and couldn't control her emotions any longer. She needed her mom. Her best friend who was always there for her and understood her like nobody else.

Lorelai watched her daughter fall apart before her eyes. Her immediate concern was for Rory's emotional well being. She realized that she needed her help and understanding, not her sarcastic witty banter. She thought quickly, moved over next to Rory and held her tight until her sobs began to slow down. With tissues at the ready and without discussion, Lorelai gathered her daughter in her arms and the two of them slowly walked back to the house in silence. When they arrived, Rory began explaining her situation to Lorelai. But Lorelai placed her finger to her lips to indicate that she did not want to talk just yet. She explained to Rory that she wanted her to get into her pajamas, she was going to do the same.

"Meet me on the couch and when you are ready, I'm here to listen without judgment," Lorelai whispered.

Lorelai proceeded to get into her pajamas and collect massive amounts of junk food on the coffee table in the living room. She made a pile of Pop Tarts and a plate of Mallowmars. She threw some tater tots in the oven, gathered several boxes of Red Vines, and a grabbed gallon of ice cream from the freezer and two spoons. She found a bag of M & M's, a bag of marshmallows and a can of whipped cream. She then selected several movies from their collection for Rory to choose from; a comedy, an action flick, and an old classic drama. She wasn't sure what Rory would choose, but she needed to help her daughter take her mind off her troubles until she was calm and ready to discuss her recent revelation. She steeled herself for the evening ahead. Rory needs love and support right now. She needs her best friend, not her mom. It was always so easy for Lorelai to be Rory's best friend, but the mom in her wanted to take over and make everything okay for her daughter.

When Rory came into the living room and saw the pile of junk food her mom had compiled, she looked at her and smiled. She was happy to see that her mom was in best friend mode and not freaked out mom mode.

"Thanks, mom!"

Lorelai looked at her daughter with understanding, "I figured only massive amounts of junk food will get us through this. I've selected three movies for you to choose from. We can watch and eat and eat, and eat until you are ready to talk about the situation. I'm here for you Rory, always! Whenever you are ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."

The two Gilmore Girls sat down and began to eat while watching a movie that Rory selected. After about an hour, Rory picked up the remote and paused the movie. She explained to her mom that she needed to use the bathroom and when she gets back, she would like to talk. Lorelai looked at her daughter and said she would be ready to listen.

While Rory was using the bathroom, Lorelai made coffee. She poured a cup for Rory, but second guessed it, due to her situation. She would let Rory decide whether or not to drink it. Without question, Lorelai needed coffee for the upcoming discussion. She made herself comfortable on the couch in the living room and waited for Rory to return from the bathroom. When she did return, she got comfortable on the couch with her mom. The two sat in silence for a few minutes until finally, Rory began to talk.

"Where should I start?" she asked her mom.

Lorelai answered, "It's your decision, but at the beginning would work for me."

"Do you have any questions you need me to answer immediately?" Rory asked.

"Because it could take a while to get the question I know is burning on the tip of your tongue."

"Rory, if I started asking all the questions that are swirling around in my head right now, you wouldn't be able to give me the whole story. And, I want to hear your story. I don't just want the answers. Talk to me, sweets."

"Okay, but as soon as I start talking, you can't interrupt. Maybe you should have something to write on so you can write down your thoughts and questions while I talk." Rory suggested to her mom.

"That's an excellent idea!" Lorelai agreed. She went in search of a pen and paper.

Once Lorelai returned and was ready to listen, Rory started to tell her story.

Rory explained that her current situation began about 5 years ago while she was traveling and writing for several online magazines. While in London, she ran into Logan. Although the encounter was awkward at first, they decided to have lunch together. After that initial lunch, they kept in touch with each other on social media, by email, and eventually through texting. Both Rory and Logan knew that they were fooling themselves if they didn't admit that their renewed "friendship" was something more serious. They eventually picked up where they left off as if nothing had ever happened. Rory made it clear that she and Logan had started an exclusive monogamous relationship once again. Both of them had decided that they would keep the relationship hidden because Logan didn't want his family to know. That meant Rory couldn't tell anyone either. She hated keeping things from the people she loved, but it was the only way they could see things working out for them.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me and Logan mom. I really am truly sorry! There were so many times I was close to telling you, but the fear of ruining what Logan and I had kept me from revealing our relationship." Rory pleaded.

Rory looked over at Lorelai and noticed that she hadn't written anything down yet. It was puzzling, but she continued to tell her story. Rory then moved ahead a few years. She explained that everything between her and Logan was going smoothly for about 3 years until his family began to get in the way again. They didn't know about Rory, so they assumed that Logan had either resumed to his old playboy ways or was not involved with anyone. They began to pressure him about developing a relationship with a woman from a very powerful French journalism family. His dad explained that a merger would be beneficial for both families, and encouraged Logan to develop a relationship with their daughter Odette. Logan tried to avoid the situation and did so for almost a year until Mitchum finally insisted that he step up and make this happen. Logan figured he would make an attempt at developing a relationship with Odette under the pretenses that it would eventually fail and he would be off the hook. So, he started a casual dating relationship with her to get his father off his back.

Lorelai looked at Rory and started to speak. Rory stopped her and pointed to her pad of paper indicating that she should write down her thoughts and not interrupt. Lorelai pulled her lips into her mouth and started writing furiously, it took her almost five minutes. When Rory realized she was done writing, she continued her story.

Rory explained that although the situation made her extremely unhappy, being without Logan made her even more unhappy. So, she put up with the ruse in order to stay with Logan. He and Odette were just dating and there was nothing sexual between them at first. Once Odette's family realized how beneficial a merger between the two families would be, they also began to pressure the couple. Talk of engagement and marriage began to be thrown around. Logan was not on board, but Odette was. Finally, Logan came clean with Mitchum and explained that he was already in a serious relationship and couldn't marry Odette. He only started dating her to get the family off his back. Mitchum not only didn't care, but he also didn't want to hear it. He explained that it was time for Logan to step up and support his family. He had plenty of time to sow his oats. It was time to settle down and join the family business. Logan had tried before to ignore his family and the Huntzberger fortune, but he failed. He wasn't cut out for the life he had to lead without his fortune. He thought he would be able to live without it, but after college, he realized the life he was born into was more a part of him than he had originally thought. Eventually, he found himself living that life again and went back to working for his father and all that went with it. If he didn't give in to his father, he would be disowned again, and he couldn't stand the thought of living that life again.

Rory noticed that Lorelai was writing furiously again. She had filled two entire pages with what Rory assumed were thoughts and questions. Lorelai looked at her daughter and gave a pained smile while continuing to hold her tongue. Rory asked her mom if she needed a break. She explained that she was only about a third through her story, and she could use a break. Not only was she hungry again, but she also needed to use the bathroom again too. Lorelai, being afraid to open her mouth for fear of not being able to close it again, with wide eyes vigorously shook her head yes. The two Gilmore Girls got up to stretch, refresh and refuel to get ready for round two of the Rory Saga.


	2. Chapter 2: How Did I Get Here?

Chapter 2: How Did I Get Here?

When they got up off the couch to refuel, Lorelai noticed the time. It was 5:00 in the morning. She and Luke became man and wife just a few hours ago. She was so concerned about Rory that she left the town square shortly after their secret ceremony and didn't have time to explain things to Luke. Where was he now? Where did he think she was? The ceremony they had planned for the town was going to be held at 5:00 in the afternoon. That was hours away, but Rory needed to her. She needed to get things off her chest. Hell, Lorelai also needed answers. They both needed sleep and Lorelai needed to know where Luke was. She picked up her cell phone and called him. He answered on the first ring.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked anxiously.

"Luke, I...I...Rory needed me and I had to get her home as quickly as possible," she explained. "I'm sorry I took off without telling you."

Luke explained that he saw the two of them sitting on the steps of the gazebo. He realized Rory was upset or crying and noticed they left together.

"I saw you leave and figured that the two of you needed some girl time. So I decided to hang out here and make sure everything is ready to go for later today. How is everything? Is Rory okay?"

Lorelai explained to Luke, "Well, the short of it is, she will be okay. But, I don't have the complete story yet, and apparently, it's a very long story. I got her calmed down and she started to fill me in, but she is not even close to the ending. I've got about a gallon of coffee and two tons of sugar in me. I'm hoping to get us both to the point where we can try to get some rest for the ceremony this afternoon."

"Lorelai, we are already married. I feel no need to go through with the ceremony this afternoon if Rory needs you. We can just postpone it, or cancel it altogether. We are married! I'm your husband, you're my wife. Who cares if everyone in this crazy town sees us get hitched?" Luke insisted.

Lorelai responded, "That is so sweet of you to cancel our wedding for Rory, but if this town doesn't get to witness the real ceremony, they will most likely not believe that it ever happened. With all the ups and downs our relationship has been through over the years, they need to see it happen more than we need to have it happen. There will be no dealing with anyone if we don't go through with this. We will never hear the end of it."

Luke agreed, "But...Lane, Rory, and Michel witnessed our marriage, not to mention Reverend Skinner performed it. They can confirm that we actually did get married."

Lorelai understood, "You're right, we do have witnesses, but my parents were also planning to attend. If I cancel this wedding and tell them it's because we got married in the middle of the night, I'm afraid that my mother will go ballistic. I don't want to deal with her right now. Especially with Rory needing my help. I'm confident I can get Rory settled enough so that we can still have the planned ceremony this afternoon."

Luke was concerned about Rory, but he also agreed with Lorelai. He didn't know what it was that upset Rory, but if Lorelai thinks that she can get her settled, then they should go through with the afternoon ceremony.

Luke relented, "Okay, if you are sure. It is best that we go through with the ceremony for the town and your parents. I'm just about done here. Kirk can handle the rest. I'm going to head home. Do you need me to pick up anything?"

Lorelai thought for a minute, "Can you get some coffee, pie, and a box of tissues please?"

"Sure thing. I'll be home in 10 minutes." Luke responded.

Lorelai left her bedroom and returned to the living room downstairs. Rory was sitting on the couch waiting for her. She was reading over the notes that Lorelai had written during the first part of their discussion. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to her daughter, putting an arm over her shoulders and resting her head on Rory's. She needed answers just as much as Rory needed her support.

"The ball is in your court, kid. Where do we go from here? Do you want to continue? It's up to you. I want to let you know that Luke is on his way home with coffee and pie, and we still have the ceremony planned for this afternoon. I don't want to rush you, but canceling the ceremony at this point is not an option. Your grandmother would definitely not handle that well at all. But, I understand that you need time to get this off your chest." Lorelai looked into Rory's eyes sympathetically and waited for her answer.

Rory looked her mom in the eyes and held her stare. She had read her notes and questions, so she knew what she was thinking at this point in their discussion. She needed to explain a few more things in order to get to the point where she felt she could put this aside for now and focus on the main event of the day.

Rory explained to her mom, "There is no way I am going to be able to rest or relax until I am able to explain a few more things to you. After reading your notes, I understand what you need to know and it is basically the end of my story. I'll skip the middle details and fill you in on all of that later. For now, I'll jump to the end so I can begin to move forward. Is that okay with you?"

"Sweets, I am here for you. You tell your story however you want. I'm listening. Unfortunately, I do have to give you a time limit for now. Later, we can talk until we fall asleep, but we both need to get some rest in order to get through the rest of the day and the ceremony this afternoon. Will an hour be enough to get you settled, and then we can talk it all out later?"

Rory responded, "Thanks mom, an hour should do it. I just need to give you the basics for now. Later, will work for all of the other details. I want you to be well rested for your big day, even though you already had your moment with Luke. It's really considerate of you to go through all of this for the town, and grandma."

Lorelai scoffed, "Please, it's not so much the town as it is your grandmother. I do not want to listen to her rant if I cancel this thing. This is self-preservation at its best my child. Whenever you are ready to continue, I have my pen and paper ready."

Just as she was beginning to talk, Luke walked in. He greeted both girls, placed the coffee and pie on the table, handed the box of tissues to Lorelai, kissed his wife and stepdaughter, and headed upstairs explaining that he was going to shower and sleep. Lorelai and Rory thanked him and watched as he ascended the stairs. When Rory heard the shower running, she resumed her story.

Rory began to explain to Lorelai that she eventually broke off her relationship with Logan once she realized that his family had a stronger hold on him than she did. She did not want to be the "other woman" and told Logan that he needed to either come clean with his father, or let her go. She refused to continue the charade in private while Logan was seen in public with Odette. Logan assured Rory that he would come clean, but he never did, so Rory took herself out of the equation. She stopped writing for companies that required her to travel to London and would only write for U.S. companies. She had plenty of work and did not need the stress of traveling to London and risk running into Logan. About a year after she ended her relationship with Logan, she met Paul and started dating him. She did not intend for their relationship to get serious. She did not want that and made it clear to Paul that what they had was just casual, he agreed.

"That brings us to the events that happened over the past year," Rory explained. Lorelai looked up from the paper she was writing on with a puzzled look on her face. She realized that Rory wasn't finished and continued to listen.

Although the relationship with Paul lasted way longer than she had planned, he continued to be present in her life. She still insisted that she wanted nothing serious, and he assured her he wanted the same. The relationship was strictly "friends with benefits," that is how both of them agreed to keep it. Paul was happy, Rory was happy, it was a no-brainer. Eventually, Rory started traveling to Europe again. Her travels took her to London, it was okay with Rory as long as she didn't run into Logan. In order to keep the story short, she explained that she and Logan ran into each other and eventually he convinced her to resume their relationship. Rory was powerless to deny him, she was just too in love with him to let him go again. Thoughts of Paul didn't even enter her head as they had both agreed their relationship was strictly casual, no ties. She asked about the Odette situation and Logan explained that they were engaged, but Odette was living in France and rarely visited him in London. Although they were engaged, no wedding date was set. She was living her life in Paris, and Logan was living his life in London. It was, in his eyes, the perfect arrangement. He got Mitchum off his back, but he was able to live his life the way he wanted. Logan assured Rory that the wedding would never happen, and despite the little voice in her head that told her otherwise, she jumped in with both feet. She wanted to be with Logan and he wanted to be with her. She turned her back on what she knew the consequences were and decided to ignore the voice in her head that told her to run in the other direction. She had been so unhappy since she and Logan broke up, she just wanted to be happy again, at any expense.

Things were wonderful for several months, but then Odette started spending more time in London with Logan. It was beginning to interfere with Rory and Logan being able to spend time together. It didn't help that Rory was working on a story for a popular London magazine and was spending a lot of time in the city. Most of that time she spent with Logan, at his flat. When Odette came into town, Rory had to stay in a hotel. This began to happen more often. In fact, it became the norm. She found herself exactly in the place she wanted to avoid the first time she broke it off with Logan, she became the "other woman." After this realization, she began to avoid Logan, finished up her last article for the magazine, and moved back to New York. She was still involved with Paul, even though she had spent the last 3 months in London with Logan. Once she was back in New York full time, she and Paul picked up where they left off. It was shortly after she returned from London that she began to suspect that she might be pregnant. She remembered that while she was in London she ran out of birth control pills and needed a new prescription. That required a trip to her doctor in the states, so she decided to wait to get a refill. She knew she would be returning within the next month and she had already broken up with Logan so she wasn't worried about pregnancy at that point. But, Logan came to her hotel to convince her to stay. He tried to convince her that he was going to leave Odette. He explained that Rory was his soul mate and he couldn't live without her. They made love one last time in London and then she asked him to leave, knowing that he would never give up his fortune for her, no matter what he said about her being his soul mate. A few weeks later, after she moved back to Stars Hollow, he visited her and they made love one last time that weekend. She already suspected she may be pregnant, but couldn't bring herself to tell him. She left him, making it clear that they were finished as lovers.

"That brings us to present day. I saw the doctor last week and she confirmed the pregnancy. I'm about 6 weeks pregnant and the baby is Logan's, without a doubt. Paul and I have not had sex since I returned from London, so I'm positive Logan is the father. At this point, I haven't decided what I'm going to do. I know all the options, but I need advice, I need a sounding board. I'm completely open to anything at this point, I just don't know what decision to make. That's it. Now you know just about everything, minus some minor details that I will fill in later."

Lorelai sat silently for a minute, looking at her notes to see if she had any questions. She realized that Rory pretty much covered all her major concerns and questions, except the one about what she was going to decide about the baby. Since Rory had already explained that she needed advice, Lorelai decided not to press the issue at this point. They both needed sleep before she was going to get married for the second time in twenty-four hours.

"I have no questions for you at this point. You answered most of my questions and gave me information on things I was wondering about. So, I say we both get some rest. What do you think? Are you at a point where you feel like you can sleep?" Lorelai asked.

Rory definitely felt calmer than earlier. She was also very tired. "I can use a few hours of sleep. I'm calm and tired enough to get some rest." Rory told her mom. "How about you?" she asked.

Lorelai assured Rory that sleep was not going to be a problem for her. They got up off the couch and Lorelai walked her baby girl to her room and tucked her into bed. "Sweet dreams kid," Lorelai whispered to her daughter as she covered her up. "See you in a few hours. I love you, Rory!" Lorelai spoke into the darkness of the bedroom. "Love you too," she heard her daughter whisper.

Lorelai made her way up the stairs to her room. After making sure the alarm was set, she quietly slipped into bed next to her husband. Needing comfort, she cuddled close to him. Sensing her presence, Luke rolled over and spooned his wife while wrapping her in his warm embrace. She sighed with the comfort of his loving embrace and quickly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Luke and Lorelai get Hitched

Chapter 3: Luke and Lorelai Get Hitched Again

At noon, Luke and Lorelai's alarm clock began making an incredibly loud beeping sound. The longer it made noise, the louder it blasted. Luke began to stir at the annoying noise and tried to wake Lorelai. She was always difficult to rouse from a sound sleep and being up most of the night was not going to make waking her any easier. As much as Luke wanted to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep, he knew that getting out of bed was really the only option. He pulled his arm gently from under Lorelai's head and rolled over to his side of the bed. She stirred a little and made her usual groaning noise which indicated she did not want to be disturbed. Luke kicked the covers down to the bottom of the bed, including those covering Lorelai. That was the first step in getting her to wake up. It wouldn't take long before the cool air in the room began to chill her and cause her to wake up enough to look for the covers. It was amazing to him that the woman ever arrived anywhere on time in the morning with the amount of effort it took for her to get out of bed. Luke got out of bed on his side and walked around the bed to where the annoying alarm clock sat on Lorelai's bedside table. He turned off the alarm and began to gently nudge the sleeping Lorelai. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear that it was time to get up. He explained that they needed to get moving in order to get ready for the wedding ceremony that afternoon. Much to Luke's surprise, Lorelai opened her eyes and agreed with him. She begged him to bring her some coffee, and if he did, she promised to get out of bed. Luke gave his wife another peck on the cheek and headed downstairs to retrieve her coffee infusion with the hope that she would keep her promise to get out of bed.

As Luke entered the kitchen, he could hear the shower running in Rory's bathroom. Her bedroom door was open and the room was empty. He muttered under his breath that at least he didn't have to contend with getting her to wake up too. Her mother was enough of a battle. Luke filled the coffee pot with water from the water cooler, dumped about half a bag of coffee into the filter, added the water to the coffee maker, and hit the start button. He was unable to convince Lorelai to use K-cups. He tried to explain that it would make coffee 5 times faster than her current coffee maker, but she refused. She explained to him that the K-cups didn't make strong enough coffee for her. She would rather wait and have a really strong cup coffee than have weak coffee quickly. While the coffee was brewing, Luke began to cook breakfast for the girls. Well, at this point he guessed it was closer to brunch. He threw a couple of pop-tarts in the toaster to bring up to Lorelai with her coffee. That was an added incentive to entice her out of bed. The smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen was the clincher. She could not resist the smell of Luke's breakfast. He dropped some eggs into a bowl and began to whisk them together. He drizzled some olive oil in the cast iron frying pan and started caramelizing some onions he had chopped the other day. The toaster popped up and the coffee finished brewing. He lowered the flame under the frying pan while he delivered Lorelai her wake up meal. He put the pop tarts on a plate and placed both the plate and a huge mug of coffee on the tray to bring up to the sleeping Lorelai. As he ascended the stairs, he heard her mumble something about it not being fair that he was filling the house with the aroma of breakfast foods when people were trying to sleep. That was a sure sign that he was going to have success getting her out of bed without too much trouble. She must not only be jonesing for coffee, but she was most likely starving as well. He delivered the tray to Lorelai and made sure she was sitting up in bed before he left the room. She assured him that she was more awake than asleep and would eventually get out of bed. She promised not to go back to sleep and took a long sip of coffee and a bite of pop tart. Luke knew at that point he didn't need to worry. She was awake enough that the smells of breakfast cooking downstairs would eventually lure her out of the room and into the kitchen.

When Luke returned to the kitchen to continue cooking breakfast, he noticed the shower was off and Rory's bedroom door was closed. He turned up the flame of the burner under the frying pan and continued with caramelizing the onions. He added some bell peppers, mushrooms, and ham to the pan then dumped in the eggs he had whisked. As the mixture cooked, he threw some bread in the toaster and started cooking some bacon and sausage in another pan. The kitchen filled with the delicious scent of Luke's breakfast and Lorelai appeared at the entrance to the kitchen not long after. She took the tray Luke had brought up to her, placed it on the counter, and refilled her coffee mug. She walked over to Luke, who was standing at the stove, wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him on the back of the neck as she wished him good afternoon and thanked him for making breakfast. Luke tossed some cheese into the pan on top of the eggs and scooped the whole thing out onto a platter. Lorelai moved over to the toaster, grabbed the toast and the butter and placed both on the table. She then sat at the table and sipped at her coffee. Luke added the platter full of bacon and sausage to the meal and knocked on Rory's door to let her know breakfast was ready. She mumbled a response and Luke knew she would eventually come out to join them. He and Lorelai began eating in silence. After about five minutes, Rory joined them, and the discussion centered around the main event of the day, the wedding.

"So, everything is set up and ready to go in the town square. Sookie is taking care of the food. Kirk and his Yummy Bartenders will be serving the drinks. The music is, of course, being taken care of by Lane and Zach." Luke explained.

"When are Jess and April supposed to arrive?" Lorelai asked.

Luke explained, "Jess arrived last night. He is staying with Liz and TJ. April is supposed to arrive today around 3:00. She is taking the train and then catching an Uber to get here from the train station. She's going to hang out at the diner until the it's time for the ceremony. I offered to pick her up but she didn't want to impose in case we might be busy with last minute details. What about your mom? When is she supposed to arrive?

"You know Emily Gilmore by now Luke. She will get here when she feels like arriving. It doesn't matter what time she was asked to arrive. She runs on her own time schedule, which is usually whatever I asked her not to do." Lorelai scoffed.

At the mention of her grandmother, Rory seemed to become tense. Luke knew she was going through something, but he didn't know what. He and Lorelai haven't had time to discuss what was going on with her. She excused herself from the table and quickly walked to the bathroom. Whatever it is that is bothering her must be big because Luke noticed that she hardly touched her breakfast. Both Lorelai and Rory were serious about their food. Luke shot a concerned look at Lorelai and asked her if she could fill him in on what's happening with Rory. She explained to him that the conversation will need to wait until they have more time, but she assured him that Rory will be okay, she's just preoccupied and upset about something. When Rory returned to the kitchen she sat down at the table and continued to pick at her breakfast. She glanced at her mom and then at Luke. Both of them looked concerned but said nothing. They all proceeded to finish eating breakfast while discussing the wedding.

After breakfast, Luke went upstairs to shower while Lorelai and Rory cleaned up the kitchen. Rory's demeanor was somber and withdrawn. Lorelai was worried about her daughter but there wasn't anything she could do to help her. Not only does she need to prepare for the wedding, but the decision that Rory has to make is one she needs to make alone. As tough as it was for Lorelai, she had to let Rory make her own decision and let her know that she is available to support her whatever she decides. As mother and daughter finished up the breakfast dishes, they discussed the afternoon ahead. Both felt excited yet apprehensive at the same time. Lorelai was looking forward to marrying her soul mate in front of all their family and friends but couldn't help worrying about Rory and the news she shared. Rory was happy for her mom and Luke but completely preoccupied with her current situation. Lorelai pulled her daughter into a hug and whispered in her ear to remind her that they could get through anything together. She wanted her daughter to remember that she wasn't alone and would have her mother's support. They stood in the kitchen hugging for what seemed like hours. Eventually, they parted, locked eyes, and smiled. Without saying a word her mom helped her feel better, so she could temporarily put her current situation in the back of her mind and begin to focus on helping her mom get ready for the second wedding.

"What do you want me to help with first?" Rory asked.

Lorelai spouted off the list of things that needed to be done. "Well, where do we begin? I need help with my hair and makeup. After that, I'll need help getting dressed. That's really it. It's weird that I'm so calm. Shouldn't I be freaking out?"

Rory reminder her, "Remember you are already married. That's why you are so calm. This ceremony is for family and the town. Which reminds me, take off your wedding ring before grandma sees it and starts asking you questions that you do not want to answer. I'll make sure I grab Luke's ring too."

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Emily Gilmore arrived on the porch of Luke and Lorelai's house and rang the doorbell. Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other with a puzzled look wondering who could be at the door. Nobody was expected because everyone was supposed to arrive at the town square. They glanced at the clock to see the time. It was only 2:30 in the afternoon. They both walked over to answer the door to see who it could be. Upon opening the door, Lorelai and Rory saw it was Emily. She greeted both girls with a smile and strolled into the house. When she saw what they were wearing she questioned them about why they weren't ready yet. Lorelai explained that it was only 2:30 and the ceremony was not until 5:00. She explained to her mother that everyone was to meet at the town square around 4:30. Emily released a long exaggerated sigh and told Lorelai that she is the mother of the bride and what applied to everyone else did not apply to her. The proper procedure was for her to arrive at the ceremony with the bride. Lorelai stood there looking at her mother, she was speechless. Rory intervened and asked her grandmother if she wanted to have a seat on the couch. Emily explained that she needed help with her luggage in her car and asked if there was someone who could fetch it for her. At that statement, Lorelai looked as if she might explode. Rory told her mother to go upstairs and she would take care of her grandmother.

"I'll go get your luggage grandma," Rory offered.

"Why do you have to get it? Ladies should not fetch luggage, Rory. Where is all the help?" Emily sneered.

Lorelai was standing on the landing when she heard her mother's remark. She could not hold her tongue. She began to raise her voice as she explained, "Mother, we do not have any help! There are three people in this house and we are all perfectly capable of doing everything ourselves. A... a...and...you're not even supposed to be here! On top of that, why do you have luggage? We are having a short, simple, informal gathering of friends and family to watch us say a few words that will end in us being announced, husband and wife. The entire ceremony will last about five minutes from beginning to end. Then we will party in the town square."

Lorelai took a deep breath as if to continue her rant. Rory realized that she was not finished yelling at Emily and quickly interrupted her by encouraging her to head up the stairs. Rory moved to the stairs, took Lorelai by the elbow and guided her up the steps. As they climbed the steps, Lorelai kept glancing back at her mother standing there looking righteous and indignant at the treatment she was receiving from her daughter. Rory assured her grandmother that she would be right back to help her with her luggage.

"Get her out of this house Rory! Why is she here and why is she so early? Why can't she follow simple directions? Why does she insist on pushing her ways of doing things in my face at every opportunity? Doesn't she get it by now? I'm not like her and I don't live like her, and I don't do things her way!" Lorelai ranted.

Rory opened her mouth to respond to Lorelai and try to calm her down, but her mother continued. There was no stopping her at this point. She had to let her get it all out before she could begin to try to calm her down.

Lorelai continued her rant, "And, and, and, and….What's with the luggage? Does she plan on spending the night for a five-minute ceremony and a party she will most likely stay at for maybe 10 minutes? This is unbelievable! No, no, no, no, no, no...it's really not. This is pure unadulterated Emily. I should have known she would pull something like this. Rory, I need you to get her out of this house. I can't deal with her and I do not want her hanging around judging every decision I make while I'm getting dressed. She has to go! Take her to the Dragonfly and book her a room. If she wants to be in Stars Hollow hours before the ceremony, she can spend it at the Inn. Tell her we will meet her at the town square at 4:30 like I had originally told her we would, just like everyone else who is invited.

Lorelai turned and saw Luke standing in the doorway of their bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. His jaw was hanging as he stared at his ranting wife trying to figure out what had set her off. She was so calm and happy when he left her in the kitchen to go take his shower. He then began to think about some of the many things that could cause a rant of this intensity. In his head, he ticked off the possible causes and immediately he knew what it was, it had to be Emily. He walked over to his wife and wrapped her in a hug and began to whisper calming words in her ear. Only Luke and maybe Rory could calm her down from a rant of this caliber.

Luke spoke to Rory, "Please take your grandmother to the Dragonfly and make sure she understands that she is not to come back to the house. She needs to meet us at the ceremony. Make sure she understands. Okay? Please, make sure she understands!"

Rory acknowledged Luke's request and left the room to head downstairs. When she saw that Emily wasn't in the living room, she went looking for her. She did not appear to be in the house. Rory went outside in search of Emily thinking that at least she wouldn't have to drag her out of the house to get her back to her car. She found her grandmother standing at the open trunk of her car attempting to pull out her luggage. Without saying a word Rory closed the trunk of the car, walked Emily to the driver's side door, opened it and asked her to get in. Emily looked puzzled at her granddaughter's request and started to utter her displeasure but Rory cut her off.

Rory explained, "Grandma, you need to leave because you are stressing mom out. I'm going to take you to the Dragonfly and get you set up in a room. Then, at 4:30 this afternoon we will meet you in the town square as mom requested. No sooner than 4:30 and not later than 4:30, is that clear? Do you understand grandma?"

Emily indicated that she understood. Rory got into the car and Emily started driving to the Dragonfly Inn. In her head, she was upset about how she was being treated by both her daughter and granddaughter. She began to think about what Richard would say if he were here. He would be telling her that they should have followed Lorelai's original directions and not have imposed on her right before her wedding. She just wanted to be more a part of this big day for her daughter. Again, she forgot that it's not what she wants, but what Lorelai wants. If only she could remember to keep her nose out of Lorelai's business. Will she ever learn to stop imposing her ways on her daughter? Emily was filled with guilt as she parked her car and followed Rory into the Inn to get checked into a room.

With her mother gone, Lorelai began to relax and focus on getting ready for the ceremony. She wanted Rory to help her with her hair and makeup so she decided to jump in the shower while she waited for her to return from delivering Emily to the Dragonfly. Ugh! She didn't even want to think about her mother right now so she put her out of her mind and got in the shower. After her shower, she walked into the bedroom to find Rory sitting on the bed waiting for her. She smiled at her daughter and thanked her for taking care of the "Emily" situation. Rory ignored the comment and asked her what she wanted to do with her hair for the wedding.

Luke left at 4:00 and was patiently waiting for his beautiful wife in the apartment above the diner. Liz, Jess, and April stopped by to chat. At 4:15 Rory was pushing Lorelai out the door and into her car. Rory drove her mom over to Kim's Antiques Shop as that is where she was going to hang out until it was time for the ceremony. As the time slowly passed Lorelai and Luke both stared out a window onto the town square and watched as the residents of the town gathered in the chairs set up around the gazebo. At 4:30 on the dot Lorelai saw her mom arrive and walk toward a chair in the front row reserved for family. It was sad that she looked so out of place and uncomfortable, but she was still glad that she was there to witness her marriage to Luke. The time came for them to head to the gazebo and get married for the second time in twenty-four hours but to both of them, it felt like the first time all over again.


	4. Chapter 4: Rory Makes a Decision

**Author's Note:** **I know this chapter is on the longer side. I had difficulty deciding where to break it, so I decided to keep it as one chapter. On another note, I made a mistake in chapter 3. I forgot that Jess had been at Luke and Lorelai's house the night before, so they would have known he was staying with Liz. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so please be patient with me. I welcome reviews and criticism, but please keep don't tell me how to write the story that is in my head. If you don't like the direction I'm taking it, then you have the choice not to read it. AJ Granger, it would be great if you would log in instead of reviewing as a guest. That way I can respond to your feedback.**

Chapter 4: Rory Makes a Decision

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet just as Luke and Lorelai wished it to be. They were now officially married in the eyes of their friends and family and it was time to party. Tables were brought out and the chairs were rearranged around them. Music began to play, and food and drinks were being served. It was a classic Stars Hollow party. Everyone was eating, drinking, and dancing. Lorelai looked at the scene with a smile on her face while being embraced by Luke from behind. He too was smiling. They were both blissfully happy. As Lorelai surveyed the scene her eyes eventually landed on Emily who was sitting alone at a table looking miserable. She knew she couldn't avoid her any longer and told Luke she was going over to talk to her mother. He gave her a hug and a kiss and wished her luck as he reminded her to try to stay calm.

Rory was dancing with April, Jess, Liz, TJ, and Doula to the song YMCA. She realized that she was feeling nauseated and told April she was going to sit down for a few minutes to catch her breath. April shook her head in acknowledgment and watched as Rory headed over to the table where Lorelai and Emily were sitting. Rory greeted her mom and grandmother and sat down. She could feel the tension between the two of them but thought it best to ignore it. She really didn't have the energy to referee a fight between the two of them right now. They were both keeping the conversation civil by discussing generic topics. Rory was surprised that Emily was still at the party knowing that this type of party was not to her liking. She didn't expect her to last more than 20 minutes before making some excuse to leave. It had been an hour and Emily hadn't moved from her chair. Rory suggested to her grandmother that maybe she should spend some time at the Dragonfly's spa since she had a room there for the night. Emily looked at Rory and considered her suggestion. She decided it was a good idea and said her goodbyes before finally leaving the party for good. Lorelai thanked Rory for making the suggestion and getting Emily to leave. Rory explained to Lorelai that she did it as much for herself as she did for Lorelai. Having Emily around was stressful to Rory and the decision she had to make weighing on her mind.

Lorelai decided it was time to circulate around and chat. Rory sat at the table and sipped on some sparkling cider while making a mental pro and con list in her head. She was startled by Luke who had joined her at the table and brought her a plate of food. She thanked him and tried to avoid eye contact. Luke sat down at the table and looked at his stepdaughter. He was concerned about her and wanted to know what was going on but knew she would tell him when she was ready. He decided that he would offer some generic comfort even though she may not be ready to share. He was never good with the emotional touchy-feely stuff but tried his best.

Luke began nervously, "Uh...Rory. I don't know what's going on with you, but I just want you to know that I'm here if you need someone to talk to. I want to help in any way possible when and if you want me to. Please keep that in mind."

Rory looked over at her stepfather and locked eyes with him as she began to tear up. "Thanks, Luke, I know that, but it means a lot to hear you say it. I know how uncomfortable emotional topics make you feel. I promise that I will keep you in mind. I do have a really big decision to make and I realize that you might be able to offer some perspective. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Soon they were joined by Lorelai, Liz, April, TJ, Doula, and Jess. TJ was incoherently rambling on about something, oblivious to the fact that nobody was listening to him. Eventually, it was Doula who looked at him and asked what he was talking about. That stopped him from talking and he sat in silence with a blank stare on his face. Luke and April talked about how her classes at MIT were going. April was explaining about one of her math classes and Luke pretended to understand what she was talking about as Liz nodded along while listening to their conversation. The majority of the family seemed to be unaware that Rory was not really enjoying herself. It was Jess that finally asked Rory if she wanted to dance once a slow song began to play. She accepted the offer, and they walked over to the dance floor. Luke and Lorelai decided they also wanted to dance.

As they danced, Jess asked Rory what it was that was bothering her. "Rory, what's going on in your head? You are doing a great job at trying to hide your feelings, but I know you too well for you to hide things from me. You are so stressed out you look like you are going to jump out of your skin at any moment. What's got you so freaked? Talk to me before your head explodes."

Rory began to explain, "I'm not going to pretend with you that nothing is bothering me because it would be a waste of energy, but I can't talk about it right now. Especially here, with all these people around. I just want to try to enjoy seeing my mom and Luke being so happy. I don't want my issue to ruin their moment."

Jess insisted, "Please tell me that you have at least talked to someone about what is stressing you out. I can't ever remember a time when I've seen you look so incredibly unhappy. Not even after I saw you that time I came back from California to retrieve my car. I want to help you Rory, but I don't want to pressure you either."

"Thanks Jess, I know I can always talk to you. So far, I've only opened up to my mom, but this decision I have to make is huge. It's life changing and not something I can decide without the advice of friends and family. I promise, I want to hear what advice you have to offer, I'm just not there yet. I still have to finish wrapping my own head around it before I begin seeking advice from others."

In order to help lighten the mood, and maybe break some tension Jess joked, "How far have you gotten on your pro and con list? Come on Rory, I know you are making one. You never decide anything without looking at both sides of the coin. Is it in your head, or have you already committed it to paper?"

Rory looked at Jess and smiled. He always knew how to make her laugh. She looked at him and said, "Hey, don't mock the pro and con list. It is a very useful tool and it has never steered me wrong." The song was ending, they hugged each other before heading back to the table to join the group.

While Luke and Lorelai were dancing, they both looked over at Jess and Rory. They could see they were talking, and Rory was smiling. Lorelai said to Luke, "As much as I disliked Jess when he first came to town, he turned out to be an amazing person. You should feel proud that you had a big hand in helping him find himself, Luke. You took an angry, withdrawn teen and helped him see his way into becoming a man who is a productive and responsible member of society."

Luke responded, "Thanks, Jess seems to be doing well, but I'm not so sure that responsible is a word I would use to describe Jess. At least not yet. Can you fill me in a little on what's going on with Rory? I can't remember a time when I've seen her this stressed out and unhappy. I can tell she is trying her best to look like everything is fine, but I don't think she is fooling anyone who knows her well, which is most of the people in this crazy town. Just give me a basic idea of what she's dealing with, okay?"

Lorelai took a deep breath through her nose as she thought about what to tell Luke without breaking her promise to Rory to keep her secret confidential until she is ready to share. As she let go of the breath she was holding, she explained to Luke that what Rory was dealing with had something to do with Logan and that was all she was at liberty to say at this point. Luke looked surprised at what Lorelai said to him.

He asked, "I thought Logan was out of the picture years ago? I read on the internet that he is supposed to be married to some French heiress."

Lorelai reiterated, "Luke, I can't tell you anything more. You can try to draw you own conclusions, but you should keep them to yourself. When and if Rory wants your advice or share with you what is going on, she will. Until then we need to be patient and supportive. As hard as it is to do, that's parenthood, especially when your child is an adult."

Luke pulled Lorelai closer and held her tight in his arms as they finished dancing to the song. "I get it," he said. "I'll be patient and let her come to me when she is ready." He looked deeply into Lorelai's bright blue eyes and smiled as he said, "I love you crazy lady."

It was getting late and the party was winding down. People were saying their goodbyes to the newly married Luke and Lorelai wishing them wedded bliss. Kirk had some of the town workers clean up the square and begin collecting the tables and chairs. Luke and Lorelai thanked them before heading home. They were going to go on a short honeymoon as soon as they could both get away from the demands of the businesses they both owned. Lorelai couldn't believe it, but Luke had actually talked her into going camping. They found Rory and let her know they were going back to the house. She told them she was going to go over to Lane and Zach's for a bit.

Rory walked over to her best friend and asked if it would be okay if she hung out at her place. Of course, Lane had no problem with Rory hanging out, but she could sense that she needed something more. Lane casually said to Rory, "Maybe we can chat about whatever it is that is making you so unhappy. I'm here for you Rory, always!" Rory began to realize that she was failing at trying to hide what was bothering her. She needed to make a decision sooner rather than later.

After Lane and Zach got the twins tucked into bed, Zach told Lane that he was tired and was going to bed too. He also mentioned that he figured she and Rory wanted some girl time, so he would give them the space they needed. When Lane came downstairs, Rory was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of ice cream. She explained to Lane that she hadn't eaten since breakfast and she was starving. Lane sat down next to her best friend and asked her to share what was bothering her.

Rory told Lane the short version of the Logan story she shared with Lorelai. After listening to Rory talk and get everything off her chest, Lane responded calmly, "So, you're pregnant with Logan's baby, he is getting married to some French heiress, and you are trying to decide whether or not to keep the baby?" Rory couldn't believe that her friend was taking all of this so well. Rory added, "Not just whether or not to keep the baby, but whether or not I should tell Logan about the baby, whether I decide to keep it or not."

Lane looked a little confused as she said, "There were way too many whethers in that sentence Rory. Let me break it down so I can be sure I fully understand this."

Rory nodded her head as if to ask her to proceed. Lane listed, "First, you have to decide if you are going to through with the pregnancy and have the baby?"

"Yes," Rory confirmed.

Lane continued, "Second, if you do go through with having the baby, you need to decide if you are going to keep it, or give it up for adoption?" Rory explained that adoption was not a consideration. If she was having the baby, she was keeping the baby.

Lane shook her head in agreement and said, "That makes total sense. Third, if you have and keep the baby, you have to decide if you are going to tell Logan he's a father?" Almost got it Rory added, "I have to decide to tell him even if I don't go through with the pregnancy. Even if there is no baby, should I tell him that I was pregnant?" Lane's eyes widened as she grasped what her friend was saying. "Wow Rory, now I understand why you are completely stressed out and preoccupied. You know I love you, but you weren't fooling anyone at that party. You know that right? Well, maybe you fooled you grandmother."

"Okay, now that I completely understand the decision you are trying to make, tell me about your pros and cons. I know you made a list. You never make any decision without a pro and con list. And, this is a huge decision," Lane added.

Rory and Lane discussed her options into the early morning hours of the next day. They were both exhausted and Rory was completely talked out. She thanked Lane for her support and advice as it helped to make some things clearer in her mind. Now, Rory knew who else she needed to talk to before making her final decision. They hugged goodbye and Rory promised to let Lane know what she decides as soon as she makes up her mind. Rory walked home and crawled into bed and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning when Rory work up, the house was empty. Her mom and Luke had already left for the diner and the Inn. Lorelai left her a note asking her to meet at Luke's for lunch around 1:00. Rory looked at the clock and realized she had slept later than she planned. It was already 11:00. She wanted to get to the diner and see if Luke was available to chat before the lunch rush. She didn't have much time, so she skipped the shower and got dressed. When she arrived at the diner most of the tables were empty and Luke was standing behind the counter looking over some orders. He looked up as Rory came in and had a puzzled look on his face. He mentioned that Lorelai said they were meeting at 1:00 and was confused about why Rory was so early. Rory asked if Luke had time to talk in private. Luke told Caesar he was going upstairs. The two headed upstairs to the old apartment that was now more or less an office again in which people from out of town occasionally stayed. April was staying there, but she left to head back to school so Luke and Rory had the place to themselves.

Rory wasn't sure how to begin this conversation with Luke. He was always the closest thing she had to a father and she valued his ideas and opinions. Plus, she knew he had a perspective on the situation that nobody else could offer her. He had a daughter that he was never told about, and Rory wanted to know how that impacted his life. She took a deep breath and paused before beginning. In that split second before she spoke, Luke started talking.

"Rory, I know something major is going on with you and I don't know exactly what it is, but I want you to know that you have my support, no matter what. You can tell me anything. The only information I was able to get from you mom was that whatever this is, Logan is involved. She didn't even want to tell me that, but I continued to press her until she did. I was just concerned that something might be going on that I could help you with. That's all I have to say right now and I'm ready to listen."

Rory thanked Luke and began with, "Since you know Logan is involved I'll start with the easiest part of this entire thing. It may seem weird that this is the easy part, but once we get further into this, you'll begin to understand why." Luke waited patiently for Rory to begin.

"I'm pregnant and Logan is the father," Rory blurted.

Luke was unphased as he said, "I figured that might be a possibility. You weren't drinking alcohol at the party and your appetite is way off from what is normal for you. How far along are you?"

Rory was stunned that Luke was taking this so well. "I'm about 6 weeks pregnant and before you ask if I'm sure it's Logan's and not Paul's, I'm sure. Trust me, I'm completely sure it's not Paul's baby."

Luke nodded calmly as he listened and then asked Rory how he could help. Rory explained the decisions she needed to make. Deciding to keep the baby was an easy one, but whether or not to tell Logan was why she wanted Luke's advice.

Luke asked, "So, have you definitely decided to go through with the pregnancy and have the baby?"

Rory explained, "I'm 95% sure that I want to keep the baby. I have so much love and support to help me raise this child that deciding whether or not to keep it was, believe it or not, easy. I just can't bring myself to end a pregnancy that is the result of two people who love each other. I just can't figure out if I should tell Logan."

Luke asked, "Why wouldn't you tell him? He has a right to know he has a child to support. Not telling him would deny him the choice to support you and the baby. I understand that he is engaged or married to some French chick, but this is his child. He should have the right to make a decision about whether or not he wants to be involved the baby's life. If he chooses not to be involved, at least that is his decision and you will know that he made that choice. Maybe he will decide to be involved and that will be good for you and the baby. A child has a right to know their father and a father has a right to know his child. If he chooses not to be involved, at least he will know he has a child out there in the world. I didn't get the chance to know April until she was almost a teenager. We lost almost 13 years that we could have spent together. We will never get that time back. I missed so much because I wasn't given the choice to know. Now, if I had known and decided to miss it anyway, well that would have been my choice."

Rory listened to Luke and valued what he was saying. She knew that his advice was important to her decision because of what he and April had been through together. He made some good points. But, in the back of her mind, Rory kept thinking about her own father. How he had been given the choice and what he decided wasn't best for Rory or Lorelai. She didn't want her child to be disappointed by a father that had a yo-yo relationship based on whether or not he wanted to be involved, which was based on what was going on in his life, and whether or not it was convenient for him. As a child Rory was confused about why her father would make the choice to be there for a few months and then disappear for years at a time. Rory was hurt by her father over and over and she continued to let him hurt her because she thought that eventually he would love her enough to stay. It was possible that Logan may be that type of father, especially since he was involved, no, getting married to Odette. Rory was already the "other woman" and she had a feeling that Logan would see this child as something that will get in the way.

When Rory explained her thinking to Luke he began to understand why the option not to tell Logan about the baby was appealing to her. She had been hurt by her father's indifference to their relationship and his selfish ways of always doing whatever worked best for himself. As an adult, Rory had chosen not to see her father anymore because she felt he couldn't be trusted, and she didn't want to deal with him hurting her anymore. However, Luke still felt strongly that Rory should tell him about the baby and let him make his own decision about whether or not he would be involved in his child's life. He mentioned that maybe she and Logan could come up with some sort of agreement. If he missed too many visits, then he would lose his privileges. Sort of like a custody agreement. Luke explained to Rory that the right thing to do is to tell Logan she was pregnant with his child and that she was keeping the baby. If indeed, that she had definitely decided to go through with the pregnancy.

By the time Luke and Rory had finished their chat, it was almost time for Lorelai to arrive. Rory thanked Luke for staying calm while listening and for his advice. She appreciated his perspective and he gave her some important things to consider in making her decision. Before he left he wrapped her in his strong arms and told her he loved her no matter what she decided. "In my eyes, you are as much my daughter as April is. I'm proud of you and I always will be Rory." When they released the hug, Rory looked up at Luke to thank him one more time and she could see tears forming in his eyes. She didn't want to embarrass him, so she pretended not to notice and told him that she would be down to meet her mom in a few minutes as he left to return to the diner.

Rory went to the bathroom to freshen up before meeting her mom for lunch. Lorelai was the last person whose opinion she needed before she would make her final decision. She wanted her mom's perspective on single parenthood and what it was like to have an old lover pop into and out of your life at his whim. She had an idea that should knew what her mom was going to say, but she still wanted to discuss it with her. Plus, they hadn't really had any time to talk about things since the day she told her she was pregnant.

As Rory entered the diner from upstairs, she saw her mom sitting at a table talking to Lane. She had a feeling she knew what they were discussing. She walked over to the table and said hello as she kissed her mom on the cheek. She said hello to Lane and then asked her mom if she had ordered yet. Lorelai explained that they didn't need to order because Luke already knew what they wanted because it never changes. On that note, Luke walked over and placed their food on the table then refilled Lorelai's coffee mug. He asked Rory if she wanted coffee, but she declined. She wasn't sure yet what she should or shouldn't eating. She asked Luke to bring her a glass of water.

"So, you have been busy chatting it up over the past 24 hours. You are moving quicker than I thought you would. Who do you still need to talk to before you make your final decision?" Lorelai asked.

Rory looked at her mother with disbelief, "Uh, only the most important person in my life, YOU! We talked about my situation, but I want your opinion and perspective about what decision I might make. I want to get this decided today. I can't stand the waiting anymore. I need closure. When is the earliest possible time you can fit me into your busy schedule?"

Lorelai looked at her daughter and said, "Sweets, I always have time for you. Let me call the Inn and let Michel know I'll be out for the rest of the day. Then we'll go home and chat." They finished up their meal, Lorelai told Luke they would be at home and they left the diner.

Once they were home and settled, Rory told to her mom who she had talked to a few people to get their opinions and perspective. She also told her about deciding to have the baby. The thought of having an abortion when the baby was conceived out of love wasn't something she felt she could do. She knew her mom, Luke, her friends and, the people in the town provided a support system she could count on for help. The hard decision was whether or not to tell Logan he was going to be a father, and if she told him, the timing of when to tell him. She didn't think he would want her to have an abortion, but she didn't want him to pressure her if there was still time to have one either.

Lorelai shot a puzzled look at Rory and asked her what she meant. "Logan loves you Rory. I don't think he would even consider asking you for an abortion. Even if he does, it's not something he can force you to do. That is not his decision to make."

Rory explained, "Mom, Logan has changed over the years. He is not the same person who left his fortune behind to go work in California after college. He is back working for his father and is in line to take over the family business in the next 5 years after his father retires. He asked me to be his mistress after he marries Odette. To him, the marriage is a business arrangement. Yes, he loves me, but he made it clear that he is not willing to give up his fortune for me. He explained to me that he can't go back to that kind of life. I believe if he thinks this baby will get in the way of his business and his fortune, then may just ask me to go through with an abortion."

Lorelai was a little surprised to hear Logan had changed, but she also sort of expected it. She knew what it took to completely cut yourself off from family money. She didn't think Logan was cut out for that life. She told Rory she was glad she had decided to have the baby and asked her what advice and perspective she thought she could offer her.

Rory asked, "What was it like to have someone you love, the father of your child, constantly pop in and out of your life without any explanation? I know how it feels to be a child in that situation, but not as a parent. I have a strong feeling that if I tell Logan about the baby, that may be the kind of relationship he will have with his child. I don't want that for my kid or myself. How did you handle it all those years?"

Lorelai took and deep breath and sighed. "It was heartbreaking. That is the only word I can use to describe it. It wasn't me that Christopher hurt, at least not directly. I was an adult. I could handle the disappointment, but every time he promised to visit, or call and didn't, it broke my heart to watch you hurt because you were too young to understand why he would continue to treat you that way. Eventually, you stopped believing and trusting him. When he would say he was going to call or visit, you would just tell him that would be nice, but you never believed it would happen, and if he did follow thought and do what he said, you just went along with it. You stopped expecting him to care and it broke my heart even more to watch you come to that conclusion on your own. In hindsight, I wish that I had asked Christopher to stop showing up and calling, but deep down, I wanted you to have a father. Maybe it was the wrong decision, I don't know."

Rory had tears in her eyes. She knew it was hard for her mom to allow Christopher access to her whenever he wanted, but she never realized the emotional toll it took on her mom. It was so much worse than she expected. Lorelai always seemed so strong. She pulled her mom into a hug and they sat there together for quite some time just holding each other. Eventually they parted and agreed to take a break before continuing their conversation.

When they resumed their discussion, Rory told her mom that she had made a decision. She was going to tell Logan about the baby. She was going to make it clear that she was not going to have an abortion and was going to raise the baby on her own. If he wanted to be part of his child's life then he would have to make an effort to show he was serious. She had discussed with Luke about some sort of custody agreement. She was going to look into that, but she had time before she needed to decide those details. She felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest after saying all of that out loud. She was sure she was making the right decision for her and her child. The rest was up to Logan. Now she just had to decide how and when to tell him about the baby.


	5. Chapter 5: This is Pregnancy?

Chapter 5: This is Pregnancy?

Rory woke to the smell of Luke cooking breakfast. This was not an unusual occurrence in the Gilmore-Danes household, but her stomach's reaction to the smell of that breakfast was unusual. Rory bolted out of bed, pulled open her bedroom door, and just about ran over Lorelai in the hallway in her desperate attempt to get to the bathroom. Lorelai turned to follow Rory's bolting form with a concerned look. Luke also peered down the hallway from the kitchen to see where Rory was going. Both Luke and Lorelai grimaced when they heard Rory heaving in the bathroom. It was then that Lorelai realized Rory was experiencing morning sickness. At only 8 weeks pregnant, it seemed a little early for Rory to be having that particular symptom, but all pregnancies were different. She thought back to when she was pregnant with Rory. It was difficult for her to remember, but she could recall that her morning sickness started much later and didn't last very long. Lorelai went over and tapped on the bathroom door to see if there was anything she could do to help. Rory responded with a moan. Lorelai wasn't sure what that meant, so she cracked open the bathroom door to peek in at her daughter. Rory was lying on the bathroom floor with her head on a towel. She asked Lorelai if she could help her into the shower. Lorelai explained to Rory that as much as she did not want to eat at this moment, putting something in her stomach was the cure to how she was feeling. Since she didn't want to move, Lorelai went to the kitchen to get some saltine crackers and ginger ale for her daughter.

After nibbling on the crackers and sipping some ginger ale, Rory's stomach began to settle. Eventually she was able to get into the shower and that made her feel even better. After her shower, she got dressed and was ready to head over to her office at the paper. When she came out of her room, Lorelai asked if she could sit and chat for a few minutes. She sat at the kitchen table and listened while Lorelai gave her a few pointers about early pregnancy and morning sickness.

Lorelai explained, "The first thing she needed to know was they call it morning sickness, but it can happen at any point in the day. Most women feel it more when they first wake up because that is when your stomach is empty. Now, the key detail to remember is to always have food in your stomach. You should probably keep saltine crackers with you at all times. Put them everywhere; in the car, on your bedside table, in your purse or backpack, and at the office. They are a very bland food and good at settling an upset stomach. The other key ingredient to help with nausea is ginger. Whether it's ginger ale, ginger tea, or ginger cookies. They even make these little ginger hard candies that help a lot too."

Rory thanked her mom for her advice. She would stop at Doose's Market and do a little shopping on her way to the newspaper this morning. She told her mom that she had her first prenatal appointment later in the afternoon and asked if she would consider going with her. She was anxious about going alone. She had asked Lane to go with her, but the twins soccer game was rescheduled due to rain and Lane didn't want to miss it. Lorelai checked the calendar on her phone to see if she had any appointments booked for the afternoon. She asked Rory the time of her appointment as she did have one meeting that she couldn't reschedule at 3:00. Rory explained that her appointment was scheduled for 4:00, but they wanted her to arrive at 3:30 to fill out all the new patient paperwork. Lorelai asked where the appointment was and explained that she could meet her there close to 4 but wouldn't be able to drive with her due to her 3:00 appointment. Rory thanked her mom and told her she would see her later as she headed out the door to go to the paper.

As her mother suggested, Rory stopped at Doose's Market on her way to the Stars Hollow Gazette. She bought about 5 boxes of saltine crackers, gingersnap cookies, ginger tea, and some mini cans of ginger ale. She didn't see any ginger hard candy. She figured she would probably need to go to a natural foods store to find something that specific. She made a note to find one close to Stars Hollow. She brought her items up to the register to pay. Unfortunately, Taylor was working the register. He never rings anyone up without making some comment on what they are purchasing. He commented on the amount of ginger products and saltines he noticed Rory buying and began to ask about her health as these were products most often purchased by someone who was feeling under the weather. Rory rolled her eyes at Taylor's comments and suggested that she felt like she was going to throw-up at any minute. He asked if she had a stomach bug and she indicated that it was something like that. He didn't make another comment and tried to bag her purchases as quickly as possible while using one hand to cover his nose and mouth with a cloth. He didn't want to catch whatever bug it was that Rory had. Rory giggled at his paranoia, grabbed her bags and left the store.

When she arrived at the Gazette office, she greeted the other 2 employees. Esther was in her usual place, standing at the file cabinet. It seemed to Rory that she was filing the same piece of paper since Rory began working at the Gazette. Charlie was at his desk. To no surprise of Rory's, he was asleep. Rory placed her bags on the floor behind her desk. She sat down, powered up her lap top, and began making a to do list of important tasks that need to be taken care of as soon as possible. Since she started at the paper she realized they only had 1 writer, other than herself. In fact, she was working with a skeleton staff and she wasn't sure how much longer Esther and Charlie were going to be working due to their advanced ages. Rory wasn't even sure what the two of them did do. She needed to hire more writers, people to do layout, someone to advertise and collect subscriptions, a few more photographers, and delivery people. She and her mom could not continue to run all over town delivering papers to residents and businesses. Rory knew what it took to run a successful paper. Her experience as editor of the Yale Daily News had more than prepared her to run a paper as small as the Stars Hollow Gazette. She was going to start with asking Esther and Charlie what their job descriptions were, and then go from there.

Her first call was to the bookkeeper. She needed to know how big a budget she had to hire people and what the general yearly expenses were. She was informed that she would need to make an appointment because it was not something that could be explained easily over the phone. So, Rory made an appointment to meet with the bookkeeper at 1:00 in the afternoon. She was surprised that he was able to meet with her on such short notice. She felt a wave of nausea coming on, so she began to nibble on some saltines and sip some ginger ale. Her mom was right, it really did help. She realized she was starving so she told Ester she was going to Luke's to grab a bite to eat. She asked both of them if they wanted her to bring anything back, but they both declined.

On her way to Luke's for lunch, Rory ran into Miss. Patty, Babette, and Gypsy. They told her that Taylor mentioned she was feeling under the weather and asked her to keep her distance as they did not want to get sick. They also encouraged her to go home and rest because she looked a little pale. Rory explained that she was feeling a lot better and was headed to Luke's go get some lunch. Since they were also on their way there, they decided to go to Weston's, so they wouldn't be exposed to Rory's germs. Rory really wanted to explain to all of them that she was not contagious and why, but she was not ready to start spreading her news around town, especially to Miss. Patty and Babette. That thought reminded her that she needed to make sure everyone who knew about the pregnancy understood that they were not to tell anyone about it. She needed to tell Logan before she told anyone else. Too many people already knew in her opinion.

As Rory entered the diner, she saw her mom sitting at the counter eating lunch. She sat on the stool next to her and asked her what she was doing at the diner so early for lunch. Lorelai explained that she had a lot to do at the Inn in order to prepare for her afternoon meeting, so she decided to grab an early lunch in order to be ready to go right after her meeting and not be late for Rory's appointment. At the mention of her appointment, Rory began to shush Lorelai while explaining why. "The walls around this town have ears," Rory whispered to her mom. "Nobody else can know about my…my…the…uh, uh…my condition." Rory finally uttered. "I have to tell Logan before I tell anyone else. I don't want him to find out from someone else and in this town we both know it is next to impossible to keep things secret. I already got grilled by Taylor this morning while buying saltines and ginger products. He told Miss Patty and Babette that I was sick and contagious. That's why they went to Weston's for lunch instead of Luke's. They were afraid I would contaminate them." Lorelai asked Rory what her plan was for telling Logan, but Rory didn't want to discuss it in the diner. She suggested that they talk in the afternoon, after her doctor's appointment. Lorelai agreed, but suggested that Rory give some serious thought about telling Logan as quickly as possible. Rory assured her that was part of her plan. The last thing she wanted was Logan finding out from someone else. That was unlikely considering he didn't really know anyone in Stars Hollow, but she couldn't take that chance. Rory and Lorelai kissed goodbye and both headed back to work.

When Rory returned to the Gazette, the bookkeeper was waiting for her. She was a little surprised that he was about 30 minutes early. She was also surprised that he was about her age and not too hard on the eyes either. In fact, he was quite good looking in Rory's opinion. This, coupled with the fact that he was early, flustered her and she stumbled on her words while attempting to introduce herself.

"Um…uh…h…h…um…hi," Rory finally muttered. "I'm Rory Gilmore. I called you earlier about meeting to go over the books. I'm the new editor and writer, and manager, and custodian, and just about everything else around here since Mr. Roundbottom retired. I just couldn't stand the fact that the paper was going to close and I told Taylor I would be more than happy to take over only I really didn't think it through because, well, there is a lot to do around here and I'm not sure what the budget is, and who does what that I haven't met yet," Rory rambled on nervously and the bookkeeper put his hand on her shoulder after nodding his head for what seemed like 5 minutes. He had a feeling that if he didn't get her attention she would continue to ramble on indefinitely. Rory stopped speaking and looked at his hand on her shoulder, then glanced up at him in silence. She had a thought about how tall he was and in that moment, he began to speak.

"Hi, I'm Sean Roundbottom the bookkeeper. Bernie was my grandfather. He hired me as the bookkeeper about 3 years before he retired. The books were a complete disaster when I was hired. It took me the better part of a year to get them straightened out. Now, they are in fantastic shape and I am ready to answer any and all questions you may have." Sean spoke quickly in case he might be interrupted by Rory again, but she stood there quietly and let him say his piece. Rory apologized to Sean for rambling on. She explained that she was surprised that he arrived early, but that she was definitely ready to sit down and discuss the books for the Gazette.

The first question Rory had for him was about the budget. She needed specific numbers, so she could understand how many staff writers they had, or how many to hire if need be. She explained that most of the articles were prewritten by his grandfather and she added a few as well, but she was running out of things to print and couldn't find any information about who else was hired to write for the paper. Sean asked her to back up a bit and make a list of all the positions that she wanted information about. He would then give her the answers she was looking for, if he had them. "Okay, Rory started. I need to know how many writers we have, what they get paid, and how many hours they work each week. I also need to know about photographers, delivery personnel, custodial staff, and finally the IT department for starters. It's kind of strange, but I've worked here for about a month and the only other employees I've seen are Esther and Charlie."

Sean was typing a list of what Rory needed. As she finished speaking, he let out a loud sigh with a slight giggle and asked, "Do you always talk that fast? I can barely keep up and I type about 170 words a minute on this computer." Rory laughed and apologized while stating that her mother talked even faster than she did. "It's just who we are I guess," she explained. Sean began to relay the information that Rory asked about. He showed her a document on his computer and asked for her email address, so he could send it to her. Rory was quietly amazed that she found someone who worked at this ancient paper who not only knew what a modern computer was, but actually knew how to use it to communicate like someone in the 21st century. Sean told her the document listed the information about who was employed, what their job was, how much they were paid, and how many hours they were to work. She seemed surprised that there were other people who actually worked for the Gazette and wondered silently to herself where they all were.

Sean looked at Rory with piercing blue eyes and could tell she was puzzled about something. When Rory looked up, their eyes locked for a moment, but Rory looked away quickly. Sean asked her what questions she had as he explained she looked confused. Rory's only question was, "Where is everyone? As I mentioned, I've only met Esther and Charlie so far." To which Sean answered, "Esther and Charlie don't get paid to work here. They are retired employees who volunteer their time because they enjoy being here. At one time, Esther was my grandfather's secretary and Charlie was one of our best photographers. Generally, most of the staff work from home because, as you can see, the office isn't very big. Most of the stories that were reserved for when my grandfather retired were written by him, but a few were written by staff writers. In anticipation of his retirement, many staff members were paid in advance because we had a feeling it would be hard to get someone to step up and run the paper. I'd like to personally thank you for taking the job. I'd also like to let you know that I am here to help anytime." Rory thanked Sean and assured him that she was going to need as much help as she could get in the next few months while she figured everything out. She looked at her watch and realized that she needed to wrap up the meeting, so she could make her doctor's appointment on time. She thanked Sean again for his time and help.

When Rory arrived at her doctor's office, she was surprised to see Lorelai sitting in the lobby waiting for her. Today must be the day for surprises, she thought to herself. First, the unpleasant surprise of morning sickness, then Sean arriving early for their meeting, and now her mother of all people, was not only just on time, but early for her appointment. Rory was shocked and had difficulty hiding her reaction. Lorelai looked at her daughter and explained that she was early because her meeting went extremely well and they finished early. Comments about me being here early are unnecessary and I don't want to hear them. Both Rory and Lorelai entered the office. Rory went up to the front desk to check in and hand in the new patient paperwork that she printed from the website and filled out. The woman behind the counter was very pleasant and smiled at Rory as she handed her some additional forms to fill out. She also explained that Rory needed to go to the bathroom and leave a urine sample. Then she asked for Rory's copay for the office visit. It was then that Rory realized that she didn't have insurance, a real paying job, or money to pay for anything to do with having this baby. She began to explain to the explain to the woman that she didn't have insurance and she would be paying for it herself, as she was saying this, she began to panic and soon tears followed. Lorelai heard Rory sobbing and went over to comfort her daughter. She asked the woman what happened because she couldn't understand anything Rory was saying through her sobs. The office worker stared at Lorelai with a blank face not understanding what it was that caused Rory to start crying. When she explained that all she did was ask for the office copay, Lorelai understood what was going on. She handed the woman her credit card and told her to put today's charges on it. She took Rory by the arm and led her to the bathroom so she could clean up, calm down, and leave the ever-so-pleasant urine sample.

After using the bathroom, Rory was calmer. The nurse showed her and Lorelai into one of the exam rooms. She explained to Rory about the gown, the drape, what clothing to remove, and sitting on the table. She told Rory that it was just like being at her annual woman's check-up, but the surprise at the end was so much better. After the nurse left, Lorelai asked Rory if she wanted her to step outside while she got ready for her exam, but Rory did not want to be left alone, so Lorelai stayed and helped her prepare for the exam. After she was ready, and they were waiting for the doctor, Rory started to explain about what happened in the waiting room, but Lorelai held up her finger and shook her head to indicate that they would talk about it later. She wanted Rory to have good memories about her first visit to the obstetrician and not be stressed out about things they would work out later. So, while they waited for the doctor, Rory told her mom about her meeting with Sean the bookkeeper and all she had learned about the mysterious workings of the Stars Hollow Gazette.

After what seemed like an hour, the doctor lightly knocked on the door and entered the exam room. She spent some time getting to know Rory and Lorelai and Rory's situation. Without going into too much detail, Rory made it clear that whether or not the father of the baby was going to be involved was yet to be decided. The doctor explained all of the available options to Rory, but by this point, Rory was determined that she was keeping the baby to raise by herself whether Logan was going to be involved or not. She didn't want to put the baby up for adoption and she was almost certain that she did not want an abortion. The doctor listened to everything Rory said, made sure she was informed and comfortable and then began the exam. After she was finished examining Rory, the nurse brought in the results of the pregnancy test from the urine sample Rory left in the bathroom. The test showed that Rory was most definitely pregnant and according to the hormone levels, she was about 9 weeks pregnant. Rory confirmed with the doctor that she estimated she was about 8 weeks along. The doctor then explained that if she did decide to have an abortion, that sooner was better than later. The pregnancy was far enough along that soon she would be able to begin telling people she was pregnant. Rory was not one hundred percent sure that abortion was off the table, but the percentage was pretty high. Then the doctor explained that she was going to do the first in office sonogram and try to hear the baby's heartbeat. She told Rory not to worry if they couldn't hear it because this early on it might be difficult to hear, and that was normal. The doctor put some warm gel on Rory's abdomen and began to move the wand over her pelvic area. She moved the screen so Rory and Lorelai could see it clearly. As she moved the wand over her belly, she explained to both of them what they were seeing. Once she had the baby clearly on the screen, she pointed it out to Rory and Lorelai. Rory stared at the screen in amazement. "That little bean shaped blob is my baby?" Rory asked tearfully. Lorelai mentioned that the sonograms today were so much better than when she had Rory. Both of them were looking at the screen as if it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. While they were staring in awe at the little bean shaped baby, the doctor turned up the volume on the machine and the room was filled with a loud but rapid swishing and thumping sound. Rory looked around the room to see where the noise was coming from as she didn't understand it was her baby's heartbeat. She turned her head to look at the door in confusion and asked the doctor what was going on. The doctor explained to Rory that what she was hearing was her baby's heartbeat. Rory's face lit up in astonishment as she realized what she was hearing. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the screen and listened to her child's heartbeat fill the room. Both she and Lorelai had tears streaming down their cheeks. It was at that moment Rory knew she could never have an abortion. From that moment on, she would do whatever was needed to keep her baby safe, cared for and loved. She was already so in love with her child that she didn't even worry about money, her grandparents, or Logan. All that mattered at this point in time was that she was carrying her child, and that child needed a mother's love.


	6. Chapter 6: The Big Freakout

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update the story. I'm a teacher and I was on winter break when I started publishing. Since we've been back to school, I haven't had as much time to write. I'm working on several chapters right now. Please tell me what you think. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 6: The Big Freak Out**

Rory left the doctor's office in a daze. Knowing she was pregnant was one thing but seeing and hearing her baby was something amazing. She was feeling extremely emotional as she and Lorelai strolled slowly through the parking lot toward their cars. Lorelai was talking, but Rory had difficulty listening to her. Her mind was completely preoccupied by her baby. At some point, she stopped walking and didn't notice she was standing still. Lorelai continued walking while talking, not realizing that Rory had stopped. When she asked a question and Rory didn't respond, she turned to look at her daughter and saw she was no longer walking beside her. She began to turn to her left to see where Rory had gone. It wasn't until she turned completely around that she saw Rory standing in the middle of the parking lot looking pale and totally freaked out.

"Rory?…Rory?…RORY!" Lorelai finally yelled to get her attention.

Rory stared at her mom with a blank look on her face.

"Are you okay?"

She took Rory by the arm and led her over to her Jeep. Lorelai opened the door and helped Rory sit on the passenger seat while speaking to her in a calm tone.

"Rory, talk to me. What's going on in your head? You're scaring me. Take a deep breath," Lorelai encouraged calmly.

Rory sat on the seat of Lorelai's Jeep in a daze. She couldn't find the words to express how she was feeling. Finally, after a few minutes, which seemed like hours, Rory turned her head, took a deep breath, looked at her mom, and opened her mouth to say something, but words escaped her. Her jaw hung open as she searched for the words she needed to express all the thoughts circling around in her head. Lorelai waited patiently while her daughter tried to speak. She wanted to ask her so many questions, but she knew that now was not the time to pepper her with questions because it would just fluster her further.

It seemed like forever, but Rory finally began to talk. "The baby looks like a bean. The heartbeat sounds like the ocean. It's so tiny, but so loud, and fast, the heartbeat I mean. Logan. Logan should know. I need to tell him. I think I want to know if it's a boy or a girl. I have some names I'm thinking about. I'm a little hungry too but I should get back to the paper."

Rory's thoughts tumbled out of her mouth in a jumble and made no sense at all. Lorelai was beginning to wonder if Rory should be driving in her current state.

"Rory, I'm going to take you home. You aren't going back to the newspaper today. You need food, rest, and time to digest everything that happened today."

Rory nodded her head in agreement but didn't say anything. Lorelai made sure Rory's seatbelt was hooked, closed the door, and walked around to the driver's side of the Jeep. She hopped up into the driver's seat and looked over at Rory with concern. She still did not appear to be grasping reality. The blank look on her face was disconcerting. She just needs time to digest everything, Lorelai thought to herself as she pulled out of parking lot toward home.

As Lorelai pulled the Jeep into the driveway, she noticed that Luke was sitting on the porch. She got out of the car and walked toward the house. Luke stood up and nodded his head toward the Jeep as he asked why Rory was still sitting in the car. Lorelai turned and looked back toward the Jeep and realized Rory didn't move to get out. She appeared to be sitting there, still in a daze. She hadn't said anything since her rambling thoughts in the parking lot. Lorelai walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and helped Rory out of the car. Luke was on his way over to them with a concerned look on his face. He shot a puzzled look at Lorelai and started to speak, but she indicated with a look that now was not the time to chat. So Luke took Rory by the other arm and both of them led her into the house and got her settled in her room. Rory didn't utter a word the entire time. Lorelai was beginning to wonder if she was in shock. She made sure Rory was comfortable in bed, she covered her up and suggested that she try to sleep. Lorelai asked Rory to stay in bed and call for her if she needed anything. She didn't want her getting out of bed in her current state of mind. Lorelai insisted that Rory acknowledge the direction and Rory looked at her mom and gave a slight nod of agreement. Lorelai left the room but kept the door open so she could hear if Rory were to call for her.

As Lorelai entered the kitchen, she looked around for Luke. She didn't see him, so she headed down the hall. She saw him patiently waiting for her on the couch in the living room. He was in a reclined position with his head resting on the back of the couch and his feet on the table. His eyes were closed, his hands were folded in his lap, and he was breathing steadily. If she didn't know him better, she would have sworn he was sleeping, but Luke never sleeps during the day, unless he is sick. She silently hoped that wasn't the case. She quietly walked over to the back of the couch, leaned over and gently kissed her husband first on his forehead, then on his lips. Luke opened his eyes and a wide smiled slowly lit up his entire face. He would never get tired of looking at his beautiful wife.

"Hello crazy lady," Luke whispered.

Lorelai responded with her own hello and kissed him again. Lorelai walked around to the front of the couch and sat down next to her husband. She leaned over and laid her head on his reclining chest. Luke placed his arm around his wife and they sat there in silence for a few minutes. He knew Lorelai was trying to digest what was going on with Rory. Neither one of them wanted to break the temporary spell they were under, but they both knew they had to face reality soon.

Luke broke the peaceful silence first. "Can you fill in some details for me about what's up with Rory?" Luke whispered to his wife whose ear was perched right next to his mouth.

Lorelai responded to him in a whisper, "I bet you are wondering why she is so freaked out?"

They sat up at the same time, breaking the romantic spell they were both enjoying. They locked eyes and smiled at each other. They sat there and stared into each other's eyes for a moment, enjoying the love they have for the other. Finally, Lorelai began to tell him about Rory's doctor's appointment. She told him everything was fine with the baby and they got to see it on the screen and listen to it's heartbeat. She thought that Rory was handling everything extremely well. When they left the office for the car, she seemed perfectly okay. As she retold the story of how Rory's demeanor completely changed in a matter of minutes, she saw Luke breathe a sigh of relief. She asked him if there was something he wanted to say, but he said he would wait until she was finished.

"Well, that's pretty much it. She was fine one minute and completely freaked out the next. I think she needs time to digest all that happened at the appointment today. She'll be fine in a bit. What was the big sigh for?" she asked.

Luke began tentatively, "Well…um…uh…I…I…, when I saw how weird Rory was acting when you two got home, I was wondering if she decided to go through with the abortion after all, and maybe she was feeling sick or upset about her decision, after the fact. I'm really glad to hear that she didn't have an abortion, but I'm concerned about how she is handling the news she got today," Luke explained.

Lorelai began, "I am too. She is definitely having the baby and raising it. I think she is in shock with seeing and hearing the baby. Then, Logan entered her mind and that was just too much for her to digest in one day. I hope she is sleeping. Her mind and body both need to rest."

Lorelai looked at Luke for a moment. He wanted to offer some reassurance to his wife.

He began by saying, "I'm sure Rory is going to be fine. She will figure out all this pregnancy stuff and she is going to be an amazing mom. After all, she had an excellent role model. Who could ask for a better role model than Lorelai Gilmore Danes?"

Lorelai said, "Thanks Luke, but helping someone raise a child is a lot different than having to raise it yourself. I can offer advice, but she gets to choose whether or not to take it. The next big hurdle she has to face is telling Logan about the baby. She was so panicked about it after the appointment, I'm not sure how to help her with that. Especially since Logan is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and getting married, soon, I think."

Luke listened to his wife and waited a moment before responding to her. "The best thing you can do is not offer her any advice and just be there to listen when she asks. It will be hard, but you have done it before, and you did it well. Remember when she left Yale? You stood strong about letting her find her own way, and she did. It just happened to be the way you wanted her to go, but you would have supported her regardless of her decision. It wouldn't have made you happy if she chose differently, but you would have dealt with it nonetheless."

Lorelai nodded her head in agreement with Luke. "You're right, I'm here to guide and support when asked to do so. If she asks, I'm there. If I offer and she doesn't want my help, then I will back off. It all sounds so easy to do, I just hope I can stick to it when the time comes."

Luke wrapped her in his arms and said, "Remember, you are not alone in this anymore. I'm here to support you as you support Rory. I've got your back babe, just tell me what you need and It's yours."

They sat on the couch in each other's arms for quite a while, enjoying the comfort and love they felt for each other. Then they both heard a small little voice in the hallway calling for mom. Lorelai kissed Luke and then got up to go see what Rory needed.

Lorelai walked into Rory's room. She was awake, but still lying on the bed. Her color was better and the dazed but panicked look appeared to be gone. She moved over and sat on the bed next to her daughter.

She began to stroke her head as she asked, "How are you feeling? Any better? You look better."

Rory responded, "I'm hungry. I'm still a little freaked, but I feel calmer. I can think about the appointment without feeling strange. In fact, it makes me really happy. But, when I think about telling Logan, I begin to feel panicked again. I have to tell him. Can you help me figure out how, when, and what to say to him? Please?"

"Absolutely," Lorelai said.

"How about we get some food into you first? Do you want Luke to make something, or do you want to go to Luke's?" Lorelai asked.

At the mention of his name, he appeared in the doorway of Rory's room. Lorelai looked at Rory and waited for her decision about dinner. Rory told Lorelai that she really didn't want to go out. So, Lorelai asked Luke if he would cook dinner for them at home instead of at the diner and he agreed.

After dinner, Luke went back to the diner for the evening shift and to close up. Lorelai and Rory sat on the bed in Lorelai's room. Both of them were reading books. It was peaceful and quiet, too quiet for Lorelai's liking. She wanted to discuss Logan with Rory, but she was waiting for Rory to bring it up herself. She was trying to support and guide her daughter, not push her. She put her book down in her lap and adjusted her position so she was sitting sideways and looking at Rory. When Rory looked over at her mother, she seemed to be deep in thought. Rory placed her hand on top of her mom's to get her attention.

When Lorelai looked up at her, Rory said, "Hey, what's up mom? You look sad."

Lorelai responded, "I want to help you through this, through everything that will come up in the weeks, months, and years to ahead. But, I know we need to start with Logan and I'm not sure if you are ready to discuss him yet. Are you?"

Rory took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. She let it out slowly, puffing out her cheeks as she did so. "I've done a lot of thinking about this since we got home and while sitting here trying to concentrate on my book. The truth is, I'm not going to be able to focus on anything or enjoy this pregnancy until I know where Logan stands with it. I have to tell him right away. I just can't decide if I should call him or fly to London and tell him in person. What do you think I should do?"

Lorelai looked at Rory and smiled, "How about a Pros vs. Cons list to help you make the decision?"


	7. Chapter 7: Rory Finally Tells Logan

**Chapter 7: Rory Finally Tells Logan**

Rory sat at her desk in her office at the Stars Hollow Gazette. She was looking over some applications for a few writing jobs she had posted. She also had a few applications for the layout jobs. She needed to set up some interviews for these positions as well as talk to some teens about taking on delivering the newspaper so she and Lorelai wouldn't have to do it. There was no way she was going to be running all over town delivering papers again. As she was reading through the applications and making notes on who she was going to call in for interviews, she could not seem to stop her mind from wandering. The pro and con list she started with her mom last night sat on her desk and it was distracting her to no end. She knew that she was not going to be able to concentrate on her work until she made a decision about Logan. Should she go to London and tell him about the baby? Or, should she tell him on the phone? There was also the chance that she may be able to talk him into coming to Stars Hollow. But, she felt guilty about luring him here and then dropping the hammer about the baby. She just wished she knew what his reaction was going to be. Their relationship never had a true ending. Rory left London because Odette moved into Logan's flat. She and Logan had a minor argument on the phone and she told him that she felt they had no true relationship. But deep down, really deep down, she knew the real reason they had to break up. She refused to be the "other woman" she did not want to live that life. She wanted to share all of Logan's life, or none if it, there was no in between.

After making a few phone calls and setting up some appointments for interviews, Rory looked at the clock. She could tell it was lunch time without looking, but she wanted to make sure. She told Esther and Charlie she was going to Luke's Diner to meet her mom for lunch. She would be gone about an hour and she asked them to make sure they took any messages that may come in while she was gone. That included notes from anyone who already worked for the paper. She needed to get a handle on what their work schedules were like. That reminded her she needed to schedule a staff meeting so she could meet everyone. She quickly jotted a reminder on a sticky note and stuck it to the screen of her laptop. She grabbed her purse and the journal with her lists. As she usually did out of politeness, she asked both Esther and Charlie if they wanted her to bring anything back for them even though she already knew the answer before she asked. Of course, they declined like they always do. Rory walked out of the Gazette office and headed down the street toward Luke's.

As Rory opened the door to the diner, the little bell on top jingled causing Luke to look up from what he was doing at the counter. He smiled as he said hello to her and told her Lorelai had not arrived yet. Rory glanced around the diner and noticed the lunch rush was in full swing. She was starving and all the tables were full. She asked Luke which table was most likely to open up first so she could go stand near it and grab it as soon as it became available. Typically, he did not like customers loitering near tables because he thought it made the people using the table uncomfortable. But, when he looked at Rory and noticed she was nibbling on some saltine crackers, he figured she was probably hungrier than usual, so he just pointed his chin toward the table in the far-right corner. Rory slowly worked her way over near the table and leaned on the wall while waiting for it to open up. Just as Lorelai walked in, the people using the table got up to go pay their check. Rory sat down before Luke or anyone else had an opportunity to clear and clean the table. She looked at the leftovers on the plates and her mouth started watering. Boy, she was hungry! She should not have skipped her mid-morning snack. She was eating for two after all. Lorelai made a detour past the counter to kiss her husband before joining Rory at the table. By then, Lane had come over to clear away the dishes and wipe the table. She was joking with Rory that she was worried she might scarf down the leftovers due to the way she was eying the food. Since Luke knew what the two were going to order, he yelled back to Caesar in the kitchen to make 2 burgers as he grabbed the coffee pot and headed over to the table to fill up their mugs. Rory had already pulled out her journal and was looking over the lists she made trying to decide if there was anything else she needed to add.

Lorelai asked, "Have you made a decision yet about how you are going to tell Logan?" She glanced at the list in Rory's journal and noticed that it hadn't changed since they made it last night.

Rory began, "For starters, I don't have the money to fly to London. So, I think that idea is off the table. I realized today there is an option I did not consider previously."

Lorelai looked puzzled as she told Rory to continue.

Rory explained, "I can ask Logan to come to me. I don't think this is news that should be broken over the phone. It just doesn't seem right. Besides, I need to be in the same room with him so I can see his reaction. I can't do that on the phone. He can sound happy, but his face will tell me everything I need to know about how he truly feels."

Lorelai agreed with Rory, "You're right. There is no way to hide your initial reaction when given news of this caliber. His face will tell you everything. But, how will you get him to come here?"

"He usually makes at least one trip a month to the states, if not two. Some months he comes three times. I will email him and ask if we can have lunch or dinner. We never did clear the air with regard to our relationship. I just left London and that was it. I'm not sure he even knows we really are broken up," Rory explained to her mother.

Lorelai asked, "So when you say meet him here, you mean, here in Stars Hollow? Or, do you mean, here in Connecticut?"

Rory responded to her mother hesitantly, "It could mean here, Connecticut, or possibly New York. I won't know until he responds to my email."

Lorelai gasped, "Did you already send him the email?"

"No, not yet. But I am planning on sending it by the end of the day. That way he will get it first thing in the morning London time." Rory replied.

Lorelai questioned Rory carefully, "You're sure this is how you want to do this? I know you have thought long and hard about this. I just want you to know that I am here for you. Whatever it is that you need. Please remember that Rory."

Rory smiled at her mom as tears began to fill her bright blue eyes. "Thanks mom, I know that I can always count on you and Luke to help me with the hard times."

After lunch with her mom, Rory headed back to the Gazette office. She needed to crunch some numbers before she began the interview process so she had an idea of what she was able to pay the new hires she was going to interview. She thought briefly about her conversation with her mom at lunch. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders now that she figured out how she was going to tell Logan about the baby. The next hurdle was getting him to the US. After that, she had to conquer telling him and dealing with his reaction. She put those thoughts aside for now. No sense in worrying about them at this point as there was nothing she could control about any of it. She needed to focus on her job at the Gazette. She was hoping that with help, she might be able to make the Gazette more successful.

After working for several hours on the budget, arranging interviews, and organizing some files, Rory came to a point where she could take a short break. She logged into her personal email account and decided to email Logan. She wanted to get the ball rolling on this. She was tired of waiting to tell him, and she needed to know where he stood with regard to the baby. She decided that her email should be light and casual.

To: Logan Huntzburger

From: Rory Gilmore

Subject: Your next trip to the states

Hi Logan,

I know it has been a while since we've been in touch. I was hoping we could meet the next time you are in the states. We need to figure out where we stand. We didn't ever end things, but we're certainly not together either. Are we? Please let me know when you will be in the states so we can meet for lunch, or dinner."

Rory

She wanted to close the email with love Rory, but she didn't want to send him the wrong message. So, she closed it with just her name.

Sending the email felt good. It was a step in the right direction to help her figure out where her life was going. She expected Logan to respond either tomorrow or maybe the day after. So, she was surprised when an email message from Logan showed up in her inbox only about five minutes after she sent it.

Leave it to Logan to be conducting work business at 9:00 at night. His email was just as short and to the point as Rory's.

To: Rory Gilmore

From: Logan Huntzburger

Subject: Trip to the states

Hey Ace,

Meeting for lunch or dinner would be good. We need to catch up. I'll be in Hartford next week. I arrive on Sunday night. I'll call you on Monday morning.

Logan

Suddenly, Rory was very nervous. She could no longer delay letting Logan know about the baby. She has less than a week to decide how she was going to tell him. At least she wouldn't have to travel to New York. She could meet him in Hartford or he could come to Stars Hollow. She was leaning toward asking him to come to her. She felt more comfortable in her own surroundings. But, that would depend on what Logan's schedule was going to be like while he was in the states. If he has a lot of meetings, she may need to meet him in Hartford. Luckily, her schedule was pretty flexible and getting away from the paper would be easy if need be.

Rory felt a wave of nausea coming on so she nibbled on some crackers and washed them down with some ginger ale. She had put in a long day at the paper and made lots of progress on the budget, setting up interviews, and arranging for the next delivery day. She decided she was going to go home and soak in a hot bath. Well, a mostly hot bath. The doctor told her that taking a bath was okay, but to make sure the water wasn't too hot. She couldn't wait to get home, take a bath, and cuddle up in her pajamas with a good book. As she prepared to leave the office, she looked around for Esther and Charlie. She didn't see them, so she assumed they must have gone home. It was strange that they never told her when they were coming or leaving. That was something she needed to speak to them about. She didn't want to accidentally lock them in the office one night by leaving while they were somewhere in the office out of her sightline. Just for good measure, she looked around the office and called their names. There was no response. She waited about 10 minutes and then decided to lock up and go home. The tub, her pajamas, and her book were calling to her and she couldn't wait to get to them.

Rory hung up the phone with disbelief. She couldn't believe Logan actually agreed to meet her in Stars Hollow. She was hoping things would work out that way, but she did not plan on it. Typically, when Logan was stateside, he was extremely busy with meetings and paperwork, but this time was different. He wasn't in town on business. He was here for a family celebration. His sister Honor just had her first baby. It was a little girl and Logan was asked to be the Godfather. They agreed to meet at Luke's on Tuesday for lunch. Rory tried to talk him into meeting at the Dragonfly or Weston's, but Logan loved Luke's burgers and could not be persuaded otherwise. Rory would have to make sure she talked to Luke about keeping his cool while Logan was at the diner. She wanted things to go as smoothly as possible and having Luke hanging around may make things difficult. At least she knew they could go up to the office-apartment if they needed to get away from Luke or the crowded diner.

When Rory arrived home from the paper on Monday night her mom was sitting on the couch reading a book and Luke was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Whatever it was smelled delicious and didn't make her stomach want to revolt. Either she was getting past the morning sickness phase, or the nausea was at a lull. Whatever the reason she didn't care because, as she smelled the aroma, she realized she was starving. She wanted to eat before her stomach decided food was the enemy again. Rory walked over to the couch to kiss her mom hello and then wandered into the kitchen to find out what Luke was making for dinner. He was standing at the stove stirring some sort of sauce in a pot while cooking meat in a pan.

"Hey Luke, whatcha cookin'?" Rory asked as she walked over and pecked a hello kiss on his cheek.

Luke smiled at the sweet kiss Rory left on his cheek. He would never get tired of her sweet affectionate temperament. He looked at her curiously, worried about whether the smell of the food was bothering her or not.

"Uh, is the smell of the food bothering you?" Luke asked with concern.

"No, just the opposite. I'm starving and I want to steal it off the stove and devour it right now before my stomach decides otherwise." Rory explained.

Luke continued, "Well, I decided to make an Asian inspired dish. It's called Chicken in Garlic Sauce. The garlic is good for digestion and it also helps the immune system. Although it does have some vegetables in it, I figured the garlic would hide the taste of the veggies and you and your mom would be able to eat them without realizing that you were, well, eating vegetables."

"Luke, you are so thoughtful! But, I don't care what is in the dish, just give it to me now! Is it ready? I'm so hungry I could eat the food and the pot you are cooking it in. Please tell me I can eat it now?" Rory begged.

"Hold on a minute, the rice is almost done cooking. Once it is, I can make a plate for you. Be patient," Luke pleaded.

After dinner, the Gilmore-Danes family sat in the family room together reading and watching TV. Rory decided it was a good time to let them know she was meeting with Logan tomorrow and set some guidelines for Luke.

Rory began, "Hey mom, Luke. May I discuss something important with you?"

Both Luke and Lorelai looked at Rory and responded in unison. "Of course, Rory. What's on your mind?"

Rory began to explain she got in touch with Logan and they were meeting at the diner tomorrow for lunch. Although they already knew, she explained the purpose of the meeting was to let Logan know about the baby. It was then that Rory looked at Luke with concern.

"Luke." Rory said calmly. "I need you to do your best to stay calm and let me talk to Logan without you blowing up and scaring him. Do you think you can do that? I tried to get him to meet at the Dragonfly or Weston's, but he really loves your burgers, so I agreed to meet him at the diner."

Luke responded to Rory's request after thinking about it carefully. "I promise to do my best at holding my tongue, temper, and anything else that may embarrass you. If I find I am having difficulty dealing with the situation, I will ask you and Logan to head upstairs so you can talk privately. How does that sound?"

"Thanks Luke, it really means a lot to me that you would do that. My plan was to eat first and just engage in small talk. I really don't want to discuss the baby in front of the lunch rush. So maybe what I will plan to do is eat and then ask Logan to go upstairs with me so we can talk. It won't seem strange to him because he already knows I want to discuss the status of our relationship."

Lorelai chimed in, "That sounds like an excellent plan. Do you want me to plan to have lunch around the same time so I can be there for moral support, or do you think you have everything under control?"

Rory pondered what her mom said. Did she want her there as back up moral support? Or, would having her there make things more complicated? She couldn't decide what to do. In the end, she decided her mom being there could only help if things got emotionally charged or out of control. Lorelai was a pro at handling difficult situations. Rory decided she did want her mom in the diner but not eating lunch with her and Logan.

"Okay, here is the plan." Rory said with conviction. "Luke, you go about business normally. If things start to go south then mom, you chime in and suggest that we head upstairs to talk in private. Thanks for having my back and being there for me. I don't think I could pull this off without support from you both."

It seemed to Rory that Tuesday morning was endless. She had several interviews with prospective writers and layout specialists, most of them looked promising. She confirmed with the teens she hired to deliver the paper the day it is published. She spoke with Sean on the phone to clarify some budget numbers. She wrote four short stories for the next few issues. She was pretty much done with all she wanted to accomplish for the day and it was only 11:30 in the morning. She was meeting Logan at the diner at 1:00. What was she going to do for the next one and a half hours? At noon she couldn't stand being in the office any longer. She explained to Esther and Charlie she was taking the rest of the day off and one of them would need to lock up the office when they left for the day. She left the Gazette and headed over to see if Lane was home. She figured she would hang out with her friend until it was time to go over to the diner and meet Logan. Luckily, her friend was home. Lane explained that her shift at the diner started at one. Rory told her it was perfect timing as that was when she was meeting Logan.

Shortly before 1:00 Rory and Lane for the diner. She wanted to get settled at a table before Logan arrived. She walked through the door and Luke acknowledged her presence. He nodded his head toward an empty table in the far corner of the diner. It was the one table not surrounded by tables on all sides. Rory smiled as she took ownership and thanked Luke with a smile and a wave in his direction. Not long after Rory sat down Lorelai arrived. She waved and smiled at Rory, took a seat on the last available stool at the counter, kissed her husband hello, and ordered her food.

Rory waited for Logan to arrive. At about one fifteen the little bell above the door jingled for what seemed like the hundredth time and Rory looked up to see Logan. They locked eyes and he smiled. Man, she was still so in love with him. Her breathing suddenly quickened and her heart started thumping in her chest. He still looked as handsome as ever. She consciously willed her breathing and heart to slow down. As he headed toward the table, he stopped briefly to say hello to both Luke and Lorelai. Finally, he arrived at the table and gave Rory a hug and kiss hello. They sat down and got ready to order. Rory didn't need to look at the menu but decided to pretend so she had something to look at other than Logan. Luke knew what her order was, it never changed, and she mentioned that Logan wanted a burger too so he had Caesar begin prepping 2 burgers. Luke walked over to their table to take their order and pour coffee for Rory. They both ordered fries and Logan ordered a soda instead of having coffee.

"Ace, life in Stars Hollow seems to be agreeing with you. Is it me or are you glowing with beauty?" Logan whispered to Rory.

Rory blushed at the compliment. If he only knew the true reason for the glow.

"It's good to see you too Logan." Rory responded.

Rory continued, "Thanks for agreeing to come here for lunch. I know you want to get back to your family celebration. Please give Honor my congrats on the new baby girl. I'm surprised that she and Josh don't have a house full of kids by now."

"They would, but apparently they've been dealing with fertility issues. Honor didn't go into detail about things, but this little girl is their last shot miracle baby. They most likely will not have any more kids, so she is pretty special to all of us." Logan informed Rory.

Rory thought of the child she carried, one she didn't intend to conceive and said a silent thanks that she would not have to go through agonizing fertility procedures to get pregnant. Apparently, she could get pregnant without even trying.

"I'm sure she is going to have her Uncle Logan wrapped around her little finger. What's her name?" Rory asked.

Logan smiled as he responded, "She already does, she's amazing! Her name is Lyla, she is beautiful, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her uncle and her Godfather."

Their food arrived and the conversation between them flowed easily as they ate lunch. Logan explained to Rory he had no plans for the rest of the day. He didn't want to rush their lunch because it had been so long since they saw each other. They talked about what life was like over the past few months both purposefully avoiding any mention of Odette and the wedding knowing, at some point, it would have to be addressed if they were going to discuss the current status of their relationship. All the while, in the back of her mind, Rory was thinking about the baby.

Lorelai glanced over at the couple and realized Rory looked happier than she had in the past few months. She enjoyed seeing joy on her daughter's face again but knew eventually it would end. Luke commented to her that things seemed to be going well and was dreading the time when they started to go south.

Rory was the one to finally approach the subject, it had to be done. She did it under the guise of giving up the table so Luke could let others sit down and order. It was the lunch rush and he had a line of people waiting to be seated.

Rory smiled at Logan as she suggested, "Logan, we should move our conversation elsewhere. Luke has people lined up at the door waiting for a table. I know he would let us sit her all afternoon if we wanted, but I feel bad hogging the table when we've finished eating. We can take a walk or go upstairs to the office area. Which do you prefer?"

Logan smiled as he realized their meeting was not going to end with lunch. He really wanted to continue chatting, mostly because he didn't want to leave Rory, ever.

"Well Ace, it's really cold outside and the wind is pretty unbearable. I vote for going upstairs or maybe back to your house?"

Logan gave Rory a look that implied that he wanted more than to just talk. Rory had an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. Having sex with Logan was one thing she was sure was not going to happen. Once they were alone, she had to make that immediately clear to him. If dropping the baby bomb was what it would take to get him off the subject, that's what she would do. It's not how she would want to reveal it, but it sure would get him to stop.

When Luke came over to see if they wanted to order anything else, Rory asked him if they could use the office upstairs. She explained they didn't want to stay at the table due to the line of customers waiting for a table. Luke told Rory not to worry, she could stay at the table as long as she wanted, but if she wanted to go upstairs, it was fine with him. Rory asked if the door was locked and Luke told her it was open. She looked at Logan and got up from the table to head upstairs. Logan quietly sighed and followed her. He realized that sex was off the table, at least while they were at the diner.

Lorelai and Luke watched as the couple went behind the curtain to go upstairs. They chatted about the meeting so far and agreed it seemed to be going well. They were both happy there was no scene in the diner. The easy part was over. Now, the worrying begins. It would be just a matter of time before they find out how Logan will react to Rory's news. Lorelai asked Luke if he wanted her to give up her stood as the lunch line continued to grow. He firmly disagreed with her as he explained that his wife would never have to give up a stool or table in his diner. Then he kissed her gently and continued serving his customers.

Once upstairs, Logan and Rory sat down on the couch in the office. They chatted briefly about how much it had changed from the apartment it once was to the office it should always have been. Rory explained sometime Jess or April would stay there when they came into town, so it would always be part apartment and part office. Rory could no longer delay the news she needed to share. She wanted to rip off the band aid and get on with her purpose for their meeting.

She began, "Logan, I have something important I need to share with you. It's big news but I need you to listen and not interrupt me until I'm finished speaking because I'll lose my train of thought and get flustered."

Logan looked concerned but agreed to remain silent until she finished.

Rory began, "I'm pregnant and the baby is definitely yours. I'm almost 12 weeks and beginning to show so I have to start telling people. I couldn't tell anyone except those closest to me until I let you know. So, now you know. I've decided against an abortion, adoption is not even a consideration, and I'm keeping the baby. I'm going to live here in Stars Hollow and raise the baby myself. I know you have family obligations that you need to keep, so I'm not expecting you to drop everything in your life to come live with me and raise the baby. I have plenty of support here so you don't need to worry about how I will manage. You can go about your life they way you planned and either pretend we no longer exist or you can be as involved in the baby's life as much as you want. The door is open for you to make whatever decision you want. I do not want to marry you, so don't even think about asking.

Logan sat there silently listening to Rory. His mind was racing. He knew she had big news, but this was not even close to what he thought she was going to share. He imagined it had something to do with a job in London, or just any job in general. He thought she might have decided to take him up on his offer of living in the London apartment so they could continue their relationship. He never in a million years would have guessed that she was pregnant, with his child. This was a major game changer! Amazingly, even with his head spinning and his thoughts racing, he was still able to comprehend everything Rory said to him. He realized she was no longer talking and silence filled the room. He looked at Rory. She was patiently waiting for him to respond to the news she shared.


	8. Chapter 8: Rory's Options for Logan

**Chapter 8: Rory and Logan Discuss his Options**

 **Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews and favorites/follows. Knowing the story is being read and enjoyed helps to motivate my writing. With regard to the pregnancy timeline, I did my best to get it as close as possible. I skimmed through A Year in the Life to figure out the last few times Rory and Logan were together. I know lots of you want to see Rory and Logan end up together. I can't promise it will happen but I'm not saying it doesn't either. If you stick with the story I think you will enjoy the path I'm following. I wanted to let you know that I attended the Gilmore Girls Fan Fest in CT. last October. They had a pitch contest that asked fans to tell how the story would continue if it were to be back on TV. Many of the cast members were there. The story I am writing here is the one I pitched to them in October. It didn't win the contest but many fans and cast members came up to me and said they loved my idea. It would be a dream if it ever made it to TV, but I'm not holding my breath. I just love the characters and want to keep them alive on paper. Thanks again for reading!**

Logan and Rory sat in silence for several minutes. Rory didn't want to rush him. She waited patiently for him to respond to the life-altering news she shared with him. He looked at her intently and started to speak but nothing but gibberish came out. It was clear he was having difficulty expressing his thoughts, he was tongue tied. It was his time to speak so she continued to wait until he could put a coherent sentence together. She told him she understood and would continue to wait for his response.

"Rory…uh…I…um…uh…" Logan uttered.

It was a start, at least this time he was able to get her name out.

Logan began again. This time he felt more confident with speaking. "Rory, I am surprised. This is not anything like the way I imagined our conversation would go. I thought you were going to tell me you got a great job or decided to move to London. Please, I need time to digest this. I'm beyond shocked by the news that you are pregnant with my child."

Rory looked at him, "I have the rest of the day off from the paper. Take your time with your words. I'm just going to grab a pen and something to write on. I'll be right back."

Logan sat back on the couch and watched as Rory moved across the room to the desk. As she walked he looked to see if she looked pregnant yet. He couldn't really tell because she was wearing a dress that hung loosely on her thin frame. He imagined she chose that dress to hide the growing baby bump she mentioned earlier. She grabbed a legal pad and a pen, then returned to sit next to him on the couch. Logan felt a strong need to lighten the mood in the room so commented to Rory about the pen and paper.

"Ace, what are you going to do, take notes on our discussion so you have a reference for later?"

Rory gave a slight chuckle as she responded, "No, this is something I started doing with my mom. When we have something serious to discuss the person doing the listening writes down their thoughts and questions to prevent interrupting the person talking. You know my mom and I love to talk, but we kind of have an issue with interrupting too. This solves that problem as long as we stick to the rules. Which are, no interrupting and no responding to an interruption. Just remind me to write it down by pointing to the paper. Trust me, it works like a charm. We have seriously cut down the amount of arguments and tangents we have when discussing important matters."

"You're serious about this?" Logan asked.

"Logan, I just dropped life-altering news in your lap. It's your turn to talk. I've said everything I wanted to tell you. What I need from you is your response. I don't want to interrupt you, so I am going to write my thoughts down while you speak. So please, let me know what is going on in your head with regard to the baby I just told you about."

"What do the rules say about the talking person having questions?" he asked seriously.

"You have questions about what I told you? Like, clarifying questions? I just need you to respond to what I told you. Think about what I said and tell me how you feel about it. It's really not that hard." Rory said with a touch of annoyance in her voice.

Logan was beginning to feel annoyed as well as he replied, "Rory, you have had time to think about this, adjust to it, reflect on what you were going to say. I just found out the woman I love is pregnant with my child. I'm sorry, I have some questions I need answers to before I can even begin to put the thoughts in my head into a response. I just need some answers first."

"Okay, she told him. What questions do you need answered?"

"Thank you!" Logan said a little calmer than before.

"Don't get upset, but I have to ask. Are you certain that I am the father?"

Rory took a deep calming breath, she knew this would be his first question. As she exhaled she told him, "I am one hundred percent confident that you are the father Logan. You are the only person I have had sex with in the past six months."

He asked his next question, "How far along did you say you were again?"

"Almost 12 weeks."

"Why is an abortion not an option? Did you consider it and decide against it or is it too late?"

She took another long deep breath and let out a sigh, "I did think about an abortion. I can't kill a child I already love even though I haven't met him or her yet. This is a living being! I just can't do it. It wasn't too late when I found out, but I think maybe now it is. I'm not sure. Once I decided against having an abortion, I put it and all that goes with it out of my mind."

"When is the baby due?"

That is the first time she heard him refer to the situation as "the baby."

"The baby is due around the middle of May."

"So that would mean we conceived it when?" Logan asked tentatively.

Rory looked annoyed, she knew he still had doubts about being the father. She couldn't really blame him. If she were in his shoes, she would want to make sure also.

"We conceived the baby in August. The last time I visited you in London. The time I stayed in the hotel because Odette moved in. So, in September, when you came to see me with Colin and Finn, I was already pregnant but I didn't know yet. I didn't begin to think I might be pregnant until a few weeks after that."

Logan felt a shock down his spine at the mention of his fiancée's name. He paused and told Rory, "I think I'm almost done with my questions. I just have a few more. Thanks for being patient. I know you don't like the fact that I might not believe the baby is mine, but I also wanted to work the timeline out in my head. Who else knows about the pregnancy?"

Rory thought for a few seconds, "Well, my mom and Luke of course. I told Lane and my mom told Sookie. That's it. I did not want too many people knowing because I wanted you to know before anyone else did. That was kind of difficult considering you live in London, with your future wife. Now you know so the next person I'm going to tell is my grandmother. I am not looking forward to that at all!"

That's the second time she brought up Odette. He knew she was gently reminding him he had another life in London. A life he told her he did not want to give up. It was the main reason she left London and had not talked to him since the night he visited her with Colin and Finn back in September. He told her he would not turn his back on the family fortune again. He accepted that she wanted no part of the life he offered and he let her walk out of his life, again.

"Rory, I know what you are trying to do. You have brought her up twice now. You don't need to remind me of the life I have in London."

Rory looked at Logan with anger on her face as she said, "I'm reminding you about that life to help you get your head together so you can tell me what you think about the news that you are going to be a father. I need you to stop asking me questions and tell me your thoughts on whether or not you want to be involved in the baby's life. I need an answer from you Logan. Are you going to be an active participant in our child's life or not?"

Logan began to answer and then paused. They both needed to calm down. Sitting here yelling at each other was going to get them nowhere.

He suggested, "I think I'm ready to do that, I talk and you listen and write thing. I have the answers I needed and I want to talk out the options that are floating around in my head. So, once I start talking you can't respond, right?"

Rory didn't trust her voice so she just nodded her response, picked up her pad of paper, and poised her pen to write.

As Logan began to talk he explained to Rory that he has lots of ideas in his head that he needs to hash out. Some make sense to him and others are out of the question. She looked at him as if to say, start talking. So, he did. There were times that Rory was writing furiously and sometimes she just sat and listened. The entire time her face was almost blank. He couldn't tell what she was thinking about anything that he was saying. Her lack of reaction was not making this easy. He wanted her to react so he would know what she was thinking about his ideas. Finally, he said all he wanted to. His mind was now blank. He looked at Rory expectantly and waited for her to address the pages of notes she took while he was talking. When she finally spoke, it was to suggest they take a break. She was hungry again and needed to go to the bathroom. Logan agreed, it was a good idea to take a break. They had been in the office for almost 2 hours. He needed some fresh air and a change of scenery. He suggested they continue their discussion elsewhere.

Rory suggested they go back to her house. Now that she was sure Logan knew sex was off the table, she felt more comfortable taking him there. She wanted to touch base with her mom and Luke. She asked him to go out and warm up his car. She explained she was going to go to the bathroom and have Luke make her a quick snack to take home. She asked him to give her about 15 minutes and she would meet him at his car.

They went down to the diner and Logan headed straight out to the car without a word. Rory asked Luke about her mom. He explained that about an hour after they went upstairs, she figured everything was going okay so she went back to the Dragonfly.

Luke asked, "So, how's it going so far?"

Rory answered, "Well, he knows about, well…you know. We needed a break. Can you make me a sandwich and fries to go please? I'm starving! We are going to continue our discussion back at the house. We both need a change of scenery and time to let things settle in our heads. Can you call mom and see if she has a room for Logan for the night? Since it's getting late, he will most likely want to sleep here rather than drive back to Hartford. Also, let her know that Logan and I will be at the house so she isn't surprised when she walks in. And, make sure she knows it is okay to come home whenever she wants. The two of you don't need to avoid the house because we are there."

Luke asked with concern in his voice, "Did he take the news well? It's been kind of quiet. I didn't expect that."

Rory explained, "We are both trying to stay calm while we discuss this. There have been moments of frustration and mild anger, but we are determined to have this discussion without blowing up at each other."

"Do you feel safe taking him back to the house alone? If you don't, I can get Caesar to cover for a few hours."

"Thanks Luke. I appreciate the offer but I've never been afraid of Logan the way mom was with Christopher. He's not a violent person. He loves and respects me too much to use scare tactics. I'll be fine. You are so sweet to worry, but it's not necessary. I'll be fine alone with him or I wouldn't be going."

Luke smiled as he handed Rory her snack. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and smiled goodbye with a promise to see him later at home. It dawned on him that he loved her so much he would do just about anything to keep her safe and happy as he watched her leave and get into Logan's car. If Logan knows what's good for him, he won't hurt her or he will have to deal with Luke's wrath.

After Rory and Logan left the diner, Luke called Lorelai at the Dragonfly to give her an update. He knew she would be worried about how things were going. When Michel answered the phone and Luke asked for Lorelai, he was given the usual runaround. It made Luke wonder why she continued to keep the annoying Frenchman on the payroll. Finally, after a few minutes on hold, Lorelai picked up the phone. Luke gave her an earful about having to deal with Michel and asked again why he was still employed. As much as Lorelai wanted to explain to Luke the value of Michel, she didn't want to get sidetracked.

"What's the update on the Rory and Logan situation?" she asked anxiously.

Luke explained, "Things have been quiet. No yelling or crying, just like nobody was upstairs. They just left to go back to the house. Rory said they needed a break and a change of scenery. Also, she wanted me to mention that Logan might need a room for the night. I guess she's thinking they are going to be discussing this for a few more hours and Logan may not want to drive back to Hartford. She asked me if you would set a room aside for him if you have one available."

Lorelai responded, "I would love to but we are completely booked. You know that fall is our busiest time of the year. We've been solidly booked for September through early December since July. He can stay in the office, right?"

Luke answered, "I guess he could. I'll let Rory know when I get home."

Lorelai added, "I'm glad to hear things are going smoothly for Rory. She really needs closure. Hopefully she will be able to move on after they finish talking."

Luke agreed with her and they said their goodbyes. Lorelai said she would see him at home soon. He really wanted to go to the house now and make sure Rory was okay, but he wanted to respect her wishes and privacy so he busied himself with diner business. He was on shift until after the dinner rush and Caesar and Lane were closing the diner for the night. He had just a couple more hours to go.

After Rory and Logan got back to the house they took a break from the emotional topic they were discussing. Rory sat in the kitchen eating her snack while reading a book and Logan took some time to catch up on work related tasks. He touched base with his sister and explained that he was most likely going to spend the night in Stars Hollow. He didn't give her any specific details about his visit. He told her that Rory was going through a tough time and he was lending his support as a friend. Which was partially true because he could tell she had moved on from anything romantic that was once between them. It bothered him that he was the cause of the end of their romantic relationship. He sincerely hoped they could remain friends but right now it didn't look promising.

After Logan got off the phone he walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table across form Rory. He noticed she had finished eating her sandwich and fries and was working on finishing off what was left in a pint-sized container of ice cream. She looked up from her ice cream as he sat down at the table. He mentioned he was ready to continue their discussion as soon as she was. She asked for a few more minutes and then she would be ready to continue. Inside, she was glad that they were almost to a point where she would have some answers and closure as well. She was looking forward to being done with the drama.

Once Rory gave Logan the signal that she was ready to continue, he knew exactly what he wanted to say and the order he was going to say it in. He hoped she would believe him and not make an already difficult and emotional situation harder to deal with.

Logan began, "In my head I see you and me raising our child together. We are married and deeply in love with each other and our child. I'm working and you stay home to care for the baby and everything else that a wife and mom takes care of from day to day. Of course, I realize that is a dream world. It's my utopia. I know it's not realistic but it is what I want more than anything else in the world. I wish I could tell you that I would walk away from my family and everything that goes with it, but I would be lying to you. In all honesty, I have lived the life of both the rich and the poor. The time I turned my back on my family and was cut off from everything was the hardest time of my life. I've come to realize after living through those 5 years, I'm not cut out to be part of the working class. I wasn't raised that way and it's not a life I can get used to. I've tried. So, as much as I would love to tell you that I will leave all that behind to marry you and raise our child, I can't and I don't want to. I love you Rory, but not enough to give up the life I'm accustomed to living. There is no way my father will allow me to marry you and stay in the family business. As much as I do not love Odette, she will be my wife because it's good for the family business. It's a marriage of convenience and we both understand what it is. I don't love her and she does not love me. We are friends and that is how we will live our lives in private. In the public eye, we will appear to be man and wife for the sake of the family business. You did not ask me for anything when you told me about the baby. All you want is to know whether or not I will be involved in our child's life. You want nothing from me other than that. I know that Odette will not care about you having my baby, but she will care about how it looks in the public eye. If I decide to have a relationship with our child, it may cause problems with my public image. That is something I need to discuss with Odette. At this point, I am going to marry her and continue to build the Huntzburger family empire. I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, I need to run things by Odette and get her take on the impact this will have before I can make a decision about whether or not to be a part of our child's life."

Rory sat quietly and listened to everything Logan had to say. She knew she was right when she thought he would choose his family over their child. That was not a surprise. He had told her before that the poor man's life was not one he could live after leaving his family fortune behind many years ago. What did surprise her was that he and Odette agreed their marriage was one of convenience. They were friends in private and husband and wife in the public eye. But, how long would that last? She decided it was time to tell Logan the conditions she came up with if he decided he wanted a relationship with his child.

Rory responded to Logan with the following conditions, "I understand and accept that you do not want to give up the life you were raised to be part of. I've been part of both worlds and I can tell you I am not a fan of the rich person's way of life. I was raised with the values of a simple life and that is how I want to raise our child. I'm going to explain the conditions you need to meet should you decide you want to have a relationship with your child. If you break any of these conditions at any time, you will lose your parental rights. I am going to have a legally binding contract drawn up that states that fact. I cannot stand by and watch our child live the life I had with my father. It was not only heartbreaking for me, but for my mom as well."

Rory paused to see if Logan had anything he wanted to add. He asked her to continue.

"Here is your first option. If you should choose to have a relationship with our child, it will be an all or nothing deal. You must commit to being there one hundred percent every time you are scheduled. I will not sit by and watch our child be repeatedly disappointed because you had to change plans at the last minute or were so involved in your own life that you forgot to show up at all. I have had to live through that with my own father and I will not stand by and watch you break our child's heart over and over again. Another thing you will need to consider is every meeting will take place here in Stars Hollow. I do not want our child to know your family or experience any part of the extravagant lifestyle you live. My only regret is that Honor will never know our child, but I can live with the fact that they will never know you parents."

Rory asked Logan if he had anything to say before continuing. He asked her to go on.

"The other way this can go is you agree to no contact with our child at all. You will sign away your parental rights and I will raise our child alone. You will not have any part in their life and they will not know who you are or that you exist. You will not ever be able to make contact until the child is out of college. I will not give any indication of who you are, ever. After the child graduates college if they want to find out your identity as an adult, that will be their decision. I can promise you I will never reveal who you are."

After Rory finished explaining the logistics of a child/parent relationship, he asked about money. Rory looked at him with a questioning look and said, "I do not want or need any money from you Logan. If you feel the need to contribute, set up a trust fund for later. The life I want our child to live will be nothing like how you were raised but a little money for college would certainly help. I'm not asking for anything, but if you choose to set it up anonymously, that is your choice."

After listening to Rory's options, Logan had a lot of thinking to do. He was too tired and emotionally exhausted to make any decisions that had serious permanent consequences tonight. He wanted to think things through and run some ideas past Odette. He needed time to make an informed decision that was not based on emotions. Rory explained that he did not have to make a decision tonight. In fact, she wanted him to take his time and think about everything they had discussed. There was no point in rushing into a decision since the baby was not due until May. It was way too important to rush into it just to have it done and out of the way. They did decide to pick a date so he would have a deadline to meet. Without that, he felt he would procrastinate on the decision and run out of time. They decided he needed to tell her what he wanted to do by the end of December. That would give Logan plenty of time to think about what he wanted. It would also give Rory plenty of notice to prepare for life as a single mom that may or may not have the father of her child involved in her life. She told Logan she was going to meet with a lawyer and have two contracts drawn up according to the conditions she outlined for him. He agreed that was a good idea. They decided she would contact him once the lawyer had the agreements written so he could look at them and decide on any changes that may need to be made. If he did not make a decision by the end of December, each contract would have a clause that stated his rights would be terminated as a default for not signing. Most of all, Rory wanted Logan to understand that whatever decision he made, she was okay either way, no hard feelings.

Since they had finally come to some agreement and Logan understood the terms Rory had outlined for him, they both decided it would be best for Logan to leave. He was too tired and emotionally exhausted to drive back to Hartford so he asked if he could stay on the couch for the night. Rory didn't think that was a good idea and explained that Luke said he could crash in the office if he needed somewhere to sleep. The Dragonfly was booked so staying there was not an option. Logan decided he would go over to Luke's to crash for the night. When he left the house, he gave Rory a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and told her he would make a decision soon. She said goodbye to Logan and closed the door.

It was only 7:00 in the evening but Rory was exhausted. She had been through an emotional ringer all afternoon. At least she was close to having closure with regard to whether or not Logan was going to be part of her child's life in the future. Also, she could begin to tell people about the pregnancy without fear of Logan finding out. She didn't feel like she had to hide the pregnancy anymore. That was an immense relief.

When her mom got home she filled her in on all she and Logan had discussed. Rory told her that the discussion had gone pretty much as she had imagined it would. She knew that Logan was not willing to give up the life in which he was raised and that did not surprise her. What did surprise her was that he and Odette agreed their marriage would be one of convenience for the sake of both families. She explained Logan told her they were friends in private and in public they put on the appearance of being a family. Rory outlined the conditions she gave Logan and told her about the lawyer and the contracts. The one thing Rory made clear to Logan was he needed to make the choice between being in their child's life for good, or not at all. It was non-negotiable. She didn't want her child to feel like their father didn't have time for them.

When Luke came home he cooked dinner for the three of them and Lorelai filled him in on what happened between Logan and Rory. He understood where Rory was coming from and respected the decisions she was making for the sake of her child. He hoped Logan would make the right decision but understood he had no control over what he decided. The one thing he was truly relieved about was that Rory was no longer feeling the stress of telling Logan about the baby. She had conquered that hurdle and he was relieved and happy for her.

After the little family of three had dinner together, Rory told them she was going to read and go to sleep early. She was both emotionally and physically exhausted and needed rest. She was even thinking about taking tomorrow off from the paper so she could begin writing up her ideas for the visitation contracts. She did tell Logan that he had until December to make a decision but she wanted to know his choice sooner rather than later. Putting the terms of each visitation agreement in writing and getting them to him was the next big hurdle to conquer. Once she knew where he stood with regard to their child she felt she could begin to relax and take more enjoyment in being pregnant. As of right now, if still felt more like a burden than a joy and she did not want the feeling to continue any longer than necessary. Both Luke and Lorelai looked at their daughter with love and affection. They knew all they could offer her was support and guidance and a warm loving family environment to help her feel safe with the life she had decided to live. They assured her she was not a failure in their eyes. She thanked them with tears in her eyes, excused herself from the table, went to her room and closed the door.


	9. Chapter 9: The Ultimate Disappointment

**Author's Note: Last chapter when Rory was talking to Logan about a contract, what I mean to say was a custody agreement. I am not a lawyer, so the legal aspect will be to the best of my ability. This is fiction after all. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews!**

 **Chapter 9: The Ultimate Disappointment**

After Rory closed the door to her room she stood against it trying to collect her thoughts. She was in dire need of a distraction but she was too tired to be social. The meeting with Logan along with all the work she accomplished at the paper today left her exhausted. There was still a lot to consider but she decided to take her mind off her current situation and read a book, for Rory books were the ultimate escape. She got into her pajamas, climbed into bed, got under the covers, and began to read. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

Rory's sleep was anything but restful. She was in and out of several dreams. It seemed one dream led to the next and eventually she woke up screaming. She was drenched in sweat and felt sick to her stomach. She bolted from her bed and ran down the hall to the bathroom. As she sat on the floor retching into the toilet, Lorelai appeared at the door. She looked at Rory with deep concern on her face as she moved into the bathroom to help her daughter. She held her hair back and wiped her face with a damp towel as she whispered comforting words in her ear. It worried Lorelai that the stress Rory was feeling was beginning to be too much for her to handle. Never in Rory's life had Lorelai seen her stressed out to the point of being violently ill. The blood curdling scream that came from Rory's room a few minutes ago echoed in Lorelai's head. She wished she knew what nightmare in her caused it. She figured it most likely had something to do with Logan, the baby, and the decision she asked him to make.

When it seemed that Rory's stomach had finally settled down, Lorelai helped Rory brush her teeth. She asked her if she wanted to talk about what it was that made her wake up screaming. Rory was crying and shaking violently. She was not able to answer Lorelai. So, Lorelai helped Rory back to bed and laid down next to her daughter. She held her tight and continued to whisper comforting words into her ear. Eventually, Rory began to settle down and drifted off to sleep again. Lorelai was worried about her daughter's mental state and wellbeing. This level of stress can't be good for her or the baby. She was going to encourage Rory to take the day off tomorrow as she mentioned she might. Lorelai knew she needed closure on several things that were still up in the air. Unfortunately, Logan's decision was a big part of the stress Rory was feeling. That was going to take some time. She needed to help her daughter find some form of stress relief before she had a nervous breakdown.

When Rory woke in the morning she noticed Lorelai was sleeping in the big comfy chair in her room. She began to wonder why her mom was sleeping there when the events of last night quickly came to her memory. Rory remembered having an awful nightmare, getting sick to her stomach, and being comforted by her mom. As she lay in bed, Rory tried to remember the dream, or nightmare, that awoke her in the middle of the night. She didn't want to remember the details, just the cause of the freak out. The details were very fuzzy in her head. She figured it was because she wasn't quite awake enough to deal with life just yet. What she needed was coffee, as soon as possible. She got out of bed and headed into the kitchen in search of the black liquid that held the key to her consciousness.

Rory padded into the kitchen as quietly as possible in order to keep from waking her mom. She glanced at the clock and realized it was still in the very early hours of the morning. She should consider trying to go back to sleep for a couple more hours. She decided against more sleep and began making coffee. She could hear the sounds of Luke moving around upstairs. He must have some early deliveries today, she thought to herself. When the coffee finished brewing, she poured herself a tall cup and put the tea kettle on for Luke. She knew he liked to take a cup with him in the morning so she prepared his travel mug with the tea he usually enjoyed. Rory realized she was starving. She grabbed the box of pop-tarts and placed 2 in the toaster. In order to prevent feeling nauseated, she decided to be proactive and nibbled on a few saltine crackers just in case. The kettle began to whistle just as the toaster popped up. Rory poured the hot water for Luke's tea into his travel mug just as he was entering the kitchen. When he saw Rory in the kitchen he smiled and seemed surprised that she was up.

"Wow, I did not expect to see you up this early," Luke whispered. He knew Lorelai was sleeping in Rory's room and didn't want to wake her. He slowly closed the door to her room.

Rory replied, "I woke up and didn't realize how early it was until I was in the kitchen making coffee. I decided against going back to bed. I made you some tea to go in your travel mug. Do you have many deliveries this morning?"

Luke thanked Rory for making his tea as he asked with concern in his voice, "Uh yeah, quite a few. Which is why I'm up a little earlier than usual. I take it you kinda had a rough night? Did you get any sleep at all?"

"I feel rested, but I think I will most likely take a nap this afternoon. I accomplished a lot yesterday at the paper, so I am able to take most of today off. Hopefully, I won't fall asleep at my desk like Charlie."

Both Luke and Rory chuckled at her comment. Luke thanked Rory again for making his tea. He wanted to kiss Lorelai goodbye, but he didn't want to wake her so he asked Rory to make sure to tell her he left. He wanted Lorelai to stop by the diner for lunch if her schedule permitted it. Rory assured Luke she would let her know. Before he left, he gave Rory a hug and reassured her that eventually things will calm down and to hang in there. Rory nodded and thanked her step-father for the reassurance.

Rory was sitting at the kitchen table eating her pop-tarts and drinking her second cup of coffee when Lorelai stumbled sleepily out of Rory's room. She plopped herself down on a chair at the kitchen table and mumbled something about sleep, coffee, and something else unintelligible. Rory got up and made her mom a cup of coffee and gave her one of her pop-tarts. Lorelai silently sipped her coffee and eventually was able to put a complete thought together.

Lorelai looked at Rory and asked, "How are you this morning? I'm surprised you are already up. You had a rough night."

"I'm really not ready to discuss the events of last night. I don't really remember too well what it was that woke me up screaming. I'm trying to put it in the back of my mind and move on with my day. I'm sorry about waking you up. Thanks for staying with me. I think it really helped. You are the best mom in the world!" Rory got up and hugged her mom.

"By the way, Luke already left and wants you to stop by the diner for lunch if your schedule permits." Rory informed her mom.

Lorelai gasped, "You were up early enough to see Luke leave? That is extremely early Rory! How are you going to get through the day with so little sleep?"

Rory explained to her mom, "I was able to get a lot of today's stuff accomplished yesterday. I'm going to go into the office for a few hours this morning and take the rest of the day off. I'll come home and take a nap. I'm hoping that daytime sleeping won't be an issue."

With that said, Rory got up from the table and told her mom she needed to get ready to go to the office. Lorelai thanked her for the coffee and pop-tart. Her eyes looked at Rory with concern as she headed into her room to change. She really hoped that Rory was going to be okay.

While at the Gazette, Rory was able to focus on getting some of items on her to-do list accomplished. The next layout was ready to go to the printer and she had several stories ready for the next issue. She also got confirmation from the teens who she hired to deliver the paper. Running the Gazette was a lot easier than running the Yale Daily News, especially since she didn't have to deal with Paris. She had stayed an hour longer than she told herself she would, she was exhausted and needed a nap. She decided to take the rest of the day off. Being your own boss had its perks. Just as Rory was getting ready to leave for the day, her phone rang. She didn't want to answer it so she looked across the office to ask either Charlie or Esther to get it but neither of them were there. She still needed to talk to them about their disappearing acts. It was getting worrisome. She knew they were volunteers, but she needed to know where they were so she didn't set the alarm and accidentally lock them in the office. Her phone continued to ring. Should she or shouldn't she answer it? Rory decided against her better judgement to answer the phone. It was the journalist in her that convinced her that behind every ringing phone could be the story of a lifetime.

"Hello, Stars Hollow Gazette. Rory Gilmore speaking."

"Rory!" Her grandmother's voice trilled cheerfully from the phone's receiver.

Rory winced as she politely acknowledged her grandmother. She was the last person Rory wanted to have a conversation with right now. Well, maybe not the last person, but she was definitely near the top of the list.

"Hi Grandma. How are you? Is everything okay?" Rory replied.

Emily noted a tone in Rory's voice that she didn't like but decided to let it pass. All she wanted to do was have a short conversation with her granddaughter about possibly visiting her in Cape Cod this winter. Since she had sold her house in Hartford, the girls had only been there once to visit. Emily's life in Cape Cod kept her busy, but she missed her girls and was hoping to convince both of them to visit for the holidays. She was also thinking about getting a small house in Stars Hollow so she could stay there in the winter, but she was not ready to mention it to them yet.

"Oh, I'm fine Rory. I called to ask you what your plans for the holidays might be. Since I no longer have the house in Hartford, you won't need to attend my party. I miss my girls and was hoping you and your mom might come for a visit."

"Uh, I'm not sure yet grandma. I have a few ideas but I haven't firmed up the details just yet. I'm not sure what mom and Luke have planned. You do know that mom won't visit without Luke, right?"

"Well, of course he is invited. He is married to Lorelai after all. Finally." Emily sneered.

Rory wanted to end this conversation as quickly and tactfully as possible. She got up from her desk and jiggled the outside door so the bell at the top would ring.

"Uh, grandma, I have to go. Someone just walked into the office and I'm here alone right now so I need to see what they want. I'll talk to mom and one of us will get back to you with the details. Bye grandma." Rory said as she quickly hung up the phone.

Rory felt guilty for pretty much hanging up on her grandmother, but she didn't want to get stuck on the phone while Emily went on a tirade about how long it took her mom and Luke to get married. She also didn't want her to ask anything about Rory's personal life, which came up in every conversation she had with her grandmother, without fail. She gathered her things and left the office. She really needed a nap, but she was also starving, so she decided to grab something to eat at Luke's before heading home for her nap.

Rory walked into the diner and was greeted by Luke and her mom. She wasn't surprised to see it was packed. It was lunchtime after all. She secretly hoped that being Luke's step-daughter would score her some food a little quicker than some of the other customers. Who was she kidding? She knew she would totally get served very quickly, especially if she played the morning sickness card. She sat down on a stool next to her mom, kissed her hello, and said hello to Luke as well. She gave him a look and he knew immediately that she wanted, no needed, food as quickly as possible. Luke called to Caesar in the back to serve up a burger and fries as quickly as possible. Rory looked at Luke and thanked him for the excellent service.

"So, grandma called me just before I left the office. She wants to know what our plans are for the upcoming holiday season. She misses us." Rory informed her mom.

Lorelai cringed, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her I had a few things in the works but nothing finalized. I also told her if she wanted you to visit, she would need to invite Luke. She wasn't too thrilled with that and I could tell she was going to rant, so I cut the conversation short. I told her I would tell you she called and asked. Consider yourself asked," Rory teased.

"Gee, thanks!" Lorelai chimed sarcastically.

As they sat and ate their lunch, Lorelai tried to get Rory to discuss what freaked her out last night. Rory still didn't want to talk about it but she knew it would be better to get it off her mind so she told her mom what she could remember about her dream that turned into a nightmare. She explained that it started out as a happy dream. She was playing in the park with her baby. It was a boy. They were on the swings having fun and suddenly the baby was gone. She looked around to see Logan had the baby in his arms. He was smiling at Rory and talking to their son. Then they were walking along a path in the woods holding hands and swinging their son between them. Again, the baby disappeared but this time it was Emily holding him. This continued to happen over and over again until eventually just about everyone who doesn't know about the baby yet had a turn at holding him after he disappeared from sight. The last person whose arms I saw him in was Mitchum Huntzberger. He took off with the baby and swore that I would never see him again. He also said some really mean things about how I was unfit to raise his grandchild among other hateful comments. Then he disappeared with my son and Logan stood there laughing at me. Soon, everyone was standing there just laughing at me. Then they were yelling and it just got worse and continued until I screamed and woke up. Both Rory and Lorelai had tears in their eyes by time she finished her story. They just sat there holding each other among the hustle and bustle of the busy diner around them. Lorelai was right, getting it out did help ease her mind a little.

Lorelai eventually spoke, "Come on sweets, let's get you home so you can get some rest. I'll stay with you. It will help you feel better and I know I will too."

Rory agreed with her mom, "Thanks mom, I appreciate that."

Luke came over and hugged and kissed goodbye to his girls.

Rory was so tired she crashed immediately after her head hit the pillow. Lorelai sat in the big chair watching her daughter sleep for a while. Eventually she also drifted off to sleep. When Lorelai awoke about 2 hours later, Rory was still asleep. She left the room and quietly closed the door. She definitely needed to continue sleeping. Lorelai sat at the kitchen table snacking on Mallowmars while waiting for her coffee to brew. She thought about the story Rory told her at the diner. She wasn't a dream interpreter, but she could tell that Rory's stress over telling Logan and everyone else about the baby is what her dream was mainly about. It also seemed to Lorelai that maybe Rory was worried about the possibility that Logan and his family may fight her for custody of Logan's child.

Rory slept soundly until four o'clock that afternoon. She found her mom sitting in the family room watching TV. She thanked her again for staying while she slept and then asked for her opinion on telling her grandmother about the pregnancy over the phone. Since she was in Cape Cod, she would not be seeing her for a few more weeks. She was dreading her disappointment. Emily had already expressed some criticism with the choices Rory had made in her life so far. This would be the greatest disappointment in her grandmother's eyes and Rory wanted to get over that hurdle as quickly as possible so she could move past the scolding she knew she was going to receive from Emily. Although Rory was happy with the direction her life was taking at this time, she already felt like a failure in the eyes of her grandmother. She and her grandfather had such great hopes and dreams for the life they wanted her to live. Rory had not lived up to their expectations. Since Richard's death, Emily had changed a little. Rory was hoping that the softer side she's seen of her grandmother lately would dampen her disappointment when Rory told her the news about the baby.

"Rory, for your sanity, you need to tell her as quickly as possible. Rip off the proverbial band aid and deal with the consequences. Check the box and move on. It's better to tell her over the phone because you can hang up and she's gone. In person, she can follow you around and you can't get away. I'll be here to support you after you get off the phone. We'll eat ice cream and wallow together. Although, I'm getting kind of excited about having a baby around. At least, one that's not mine."

Lorelai accepted that she and Luke were not going to have any kids together. She was looking forward to a baby being around and not actually having to be responsible for raising it. She would be the grandparent, but she wasn't sure she liked that word. She needed to come up with a name that didn't sound old to her.

"You're right mom," Rory agreed. "Hand me the phone the band aid is coming off right now!"

Lorelai looked at Rory with surprise and said, "Right now? As in this very minute? Are you sure you are ready? Do you know what you want to say to her?"

"I've been thinking about how I was going to tell her for days. I practically had a heart attack this morning when she called me at the Gazette. I'm ready to tell her. I've got to strike while the iron is hot! I need to tell her now before I chicken out. Hand me the phone!" Rory demanded of her mother.

Lorelai looked at Rory with astonishment. She wanted to make sure Rory was ready for this. She looked pretty determined so she handed her daughter the phone. Rory dialed the phone and waited for her grandmother to answer.

"Hello, this is Emily Gilmore," she heard her grandmother say.

Rory started, "Hi grandma, it's Rory."

"Rory? I didn't expect to hear back from you today. You ended our last conversation so abruptly, I figured you were too busy with work to call me back," Emily responded sincerely.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that grandma. I had an advertising customer come into the office and I was the only one there, so I had to talk to him." Rory said believably.

Emily responded, "Well, it is your job to make sure the paper is successful. So, are you calling to give me an answer about when you can come visit during the holidays?"

Rory tentatively replied, "Um, no, um… I, uh…I have some news I need to share with you. I wanted to tell you earlier, but…you know…we, uh, I uh, had to go deal with work stuff."

"Right, you mentioned that. So, what's the news?" Emily responded.

Rory hesitated. It was the moment of truth. She needed to tell her grandmother now. She couldn't chicken out. She needed to check this box and get it over with. Just tell her Gilmore, the voice in Rory's head yelled.

Rory uttered quickly, "Um… grandma, I'm pregnant."

Silence filled the air. Rory waited for her grandmother to respond to what she had just told her. To Rory it seemed like hours had passed. Finally, Emily responded.

"I'm sorry Rory. Did you just say that you are pregnant? I think we must have a bad connection. I can't have heard you correctly. Did I?" Emily said with disbelief.

"You heard me correctly grandma. I'm pregnant." Rory replied somberly.

"Oh…Uh…Um…Who is the father of your child?" Emily asked without emotion.

Rory started to say, "Grandm….uh…um…I…I…I know you are disappointed in me. I've known for some time that you don't approve of how my life has turned out. But, it's my life! I'm happy! I'm going to have a baby and I'm going to raise this child. I am happy that I am going to be a mom. I only hope that I can be half as good a mom to my child as my mom was to me. I'm sorry you are disappointed with my life grandma, but it's my life and I don't need you to approve of it. I'm telling you about my baby because I want you to know that I'm going to have a baby in May of next year so when you see me this holiday season, I will look a little different because I will be wearing maternity clothes and have a baby bump. I want you to be happy about becoming a great-grandma, but I know I have no control over that. So, now you know. I'm pregnant grandma.

There was silence on the phone for a few seconds. It seemed to Rory that it took forever for her grandmother to respond to her rant about the baby. She waited patiently even though the suspense was setting her on edge. Eventually Emily responded.

"Rory, will you tell me who the father of your child is?" Emily asked calmly.

"Grandma, it's not important who the father is. I'm not sure he wants to be identified. I can't tell you his name at the moment. We are in a discussion about what his role will be. I can't reveal his name without his permission. I'm sorry grandma, I can't tell you who he is right now." Rory told Emily with sadness in her voice.

"So, you have at least spoken with the father of your child? He is aware of his… responsibilities concerning you and the child?" Emily responded with concern in her tone.

"Yes grandma. The father of my child knows. We are working it out," Rory said impatiently.

"Oh, so…you are not planning on getting married?" Emily asked.

"I have to go now grandma. I will call you to let you know what my plans are for the holiday. Bye grandma." Rory hung up the phone.


	10. Ch10: Decisions, Apologies, Agreements

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for adding my story to your list of favorites and following along with me. This chapter adds the custody points to the story. I am not a lawyer. I did do some basic surface research, but please keep this in mind as you read. Ultimately, remember this is fiction, so I can choose to skirt the real laws if I choose. Thanks again for all of your encouraging comments. Please continue to let me know what you think.**

Chapter 10: Decisions, Apologies, and Agreements, Oh My!

Rory was upset with herself for the way she handled the conversation with her grandmother. She was way too short tempered and had regrets about being rude and disrespectful. She felt the need to call her back and apologize for her behavior but wanted to wait until she had time to calm down. If only Emily had not continued to ask her about marrying the father of the baby. She did the same thing with Lorelai. Marriage was not always the answer but her grandmother did not see it that way. You think she would have learned that after all her mom and Christopher had been through. Rory realized her grandmother was raised in a different time with a specific way of doing things. Pregnancy was viewed as a scandal if the woman who was pregnant wasn't married. Emily did not ever change her way of thinking to match more modern times. Rory was going to have to do a better job at explaining things to her grandmother in order to get her to understand how things worked in the world today.

"Well, how did she take it?" Lorelai asked.

"She asked me 2 questions and I bet you can guess what they were," Rory quipped.

"Hmm, let me think. She wanted to know who the father was and if you were getting married. Am I right?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

"Wow, you do know Emily well!" Rory responded.

"Years of experience, my child. Many, many years. In fact, too many years I'm afraid," chuckled Lorelai with a grin on her face.

Rory replied somberly, "I didn't handle telling her well at all. I need to call her back and apologize. I was impatient and disrespectful and grandma does not deserve to be treated that way. I was just so flustered when I heard her voice that I blurted it out. I know her response would most likely be the same, but I should have had better control of my emotions. I'm going to take time to calm down and call her back in a little while."

Lorelai knew how important Rory's relationship with her grandmother was to her. The two of them get along much better than Lorelai and Emily ever did. Lorelai's relationship with her mother was improving, but it still had its highs and lows. Things would always be difficult between them especially since she still resented the fact that Lorelai married Luke. She knew that Rory would make things right with Emily and eventually Emily would come to love her great-grandchild regardless of the fact Rory was married to the father or not. Lorelai tried to reassure her daughter that although Emily may not be happy about the situation, she will forgive her and eventually be happy about the baby. She gave Rory a hug and told her she would feel better after she cleared things up with Emily.

"I know you're right mom. On the bright side, at least now that Logan and grandma know, I don't have to hide the pregnancy anymore. I mean, I'm not going to broadcast it, but I don't have to be secretive about it either," Rory began to perk up a little.

Lorelai smiled, "Hey kid, you're right! That will definitely ease some of your stress."

Rory decided to call Emily back after dinner. She wanted to have time to gather her thoughts and also give her grandmother time to cool off. Rory knew she was most likely upset and frustrated with how Rory treated her in addition to the fact that she was pregnant, and unmarried. She dreaded the call but it would make her and Emily feel better in the end.

Luke came home early. He had Lane and Caesar scheduled for the dinner rush and to close up the diner for the night. He tried to spend at least 3 or 4 nights a week at home with Lorelai. Being the boss had its privileges and setting his schedule was one of the perks. While he was cooking dinner, Rory decided to ask him if he had time to give her some advice about the custody arrangements she wanted to have a lawyer write up. It was the next big hurdle she had to conquer. She wanted to get the papers to Logan as quickly as possible so he could make a decision and both of them could move past the uncertainty of the future, at least for the time being. Once the baby arrived, things would begin to change again, she was sure they would but was uncertain how. Luke agreed to sit down with Rory and offer what advice he could. She told him she wanted to wait until after she called her grandmother. He told her to come find him when she was ready.

Rory went into her room after dinner and closed the door. She wanted to call Emily back and hoped she would be able patch things up with her.

"Hello, this is Emily Gilmore," Rory thought her grandmother sounded annoyed.

Rory hesitated and eventually uttered, "Uh…Hi again grandma…I…I…uh…um…I wanted to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier today when I called to tell you about the pregnancy. I was not prepared for your questions, I got flustered and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, I should not have treated you that way. Will you please forgive me? I feel horrible, I am truly, truly sorry grandma."

When Rory finished talking there was a brief period of silence. She waited for Emily to respond. After waiting what seemed like a long time, Rory finally spoke.

"Uh…grandma? Are you still there?" Rory said tentatively.

Emily spoke with annoyance, "Yes Rory, I'm still here. I heard your apology and I accept that you are sorry. I know that it was difficult for you to tell me the news of your pregnancy. I am still dealing with the shock of the news myself. I do appreciate you calling me back to apologize and I guess I should say I'm sorry as well. I should not have pressured you with wanting specific details about the father and getting married. I know today's young adults do things differently and that it is not uncommon for a woman to have a baby without being married. I just didn't think my granddaughter would be one of them. So, I have decided that I am going to focus on the fact I am going to have a great-grandchild and be happy about that. I will not ask you any personal details about the father or marriage or anything else personal about how you are going to live your life. I am going to trust that you will give me details as you want me to have them. This is new to me Rory, so I appreciate you being patient with me as I adjust my mindset from the old-fashioned way we did things to the current more modern ways of thinking."

Now it was Rory's turn to be silent. She was speechless. She was surprised at her grandmother's declaration of attempting to be more modern. All Rory could think about was saying thank you and to apologize again.

"Uh…uh…oh…than…uh…thank you for understanding grandma. I appreciate how difficult it may be for you to adjust. Again, I'm sorry for my attitude. I promise it won't happen again."

Emily and Rory wrapped up their conversation by talking about the upcoming holiday. Rory assured Emily that as soon as she had firm plans she would let her know when she would visit. She hoped it would be the same dates as her mom and Luke, but Rory was not aware of their plans at the moment. When the conversation was over and Rory hung up the phone she felt a great sense of peace come over her. Everyone that must know about the pregnancy now knows. She doesn't have to go to great lengths anymore to hide it. She can begin to live her life normally, at least for now. The next big task is to talk to a lawyer about the custody arrangements.

After she hung up the phone Rory went upstairs to talk with her mom about the conversation she just had with her grandmother. Although Rory was relieved that her grandmother would no longer pressure her to divulge information about the baby's father and she gave up the idea of her getting married, Emily's attempt at more modern thinking will seem strange at first. It is going to take everyone time to get used to the new Emily.

The bedroom door was closed so Rory knocked lightly. It wasn't too late but Rory didn't know if Luke had an early morning. She was afraid she would wake him. Lorelai came to the door and invited Rory in. She asked if Luke was asleep and Lorelai explained that he was tinkering around in the garage at the moment. Rory explained to her mom how her conversation with Emily went. Lorelai was impressed that Rory was the catalyst of Emily's paradigm shift. She didn't think anyone could get Emily to change her ways of thinking. Rory assured Lorelai that it was going to take time and they all needed to be a little patient. It was Lorelai's hope her mother would begin to be more accepting of her marriage to Luke but she was not going to hold her breath. As they were talking Luke came in and started getting ready for bed. Rory explained that her talk with Emily was longer than she planned and asked Luke if she could talk to him about custody issues tomorrow. Luke understood and agreed tomorrow would be better for him too. He went into the bathroom to take a shower. That was Rory's cue to leave the two newlyweds alone. She had a busy day and wanted to go to bed as well. Lorelai hoped for both their sakes Rory would have a more restful night's sleep.

The next morning Rory and Lorelai were sitting at the kitchen table having coffee and eating cereal with marshmallows. Luke had already left for the diner so he wasn't there to make snide remarks about the unhealthy choice they made for breakfast. Rory was asking Lorelai about what her custody deal with Christopher was like. Lorelai explained that Christopher never asked for custody or visitation but she had a lawyer draw one up anyway just in case he decided later on that it was something he did want. In their agreement Lorelai had complete sole physical and legal custody. It also stated that Christopher could have visitation whenever he wanted but had to give Lorelai notice of his visit at least 2 weeks before. The other important detail was he was not allowed to leave Stars Hollow with you unless Lorelai agreed it was okay. The only reason I had it drawn up was to protect you and keep him from coming back and just trying to pick up where we left off. It was more for peace of mind than anything else. As you are well aware, legally Christopher was considered an absent father. Not only did he not keep in contact with you, but he did not provide any financial support. Rory thanked her mom for the counsel. They both needed to get to work and decided they would meet at Luke's for lunch.

After Rory came home from the Gazette she decided to search the internet to see what she could find about custody agreements. She was amazed at all the different types of custody that parents could choose. There were a lot of unfamiliar terms and suggestions about schedules. One thing that surprised her was you did not need a lawyer to write up a custody agreement. Considering who the father of her child was, she definitely wanted a lawyer and an agreement signed by both her and Logan. Rory did not want to take any chances. She continued to read the many ideas she found until Luke arrived home and started making dinner.

"Hi Luke," Rory chimed.

"Oh, hey Rory," Luke responded.

"What's for dinner?" she asked.

Luke smiled as he said, "You know the rules. I don't tell you what's in it and you eat without complaining. We have perfected the system. I'm happy because I know that you and your mom get at least one meal a day that is good for you. You two are happy because you get to eat whatever else you want all day long. Don't mess with the system."

Rory laughed at Luke, "Okay, okay mister. Don't start ranting. I was just trying to make polite conversation. Do you mind if we chat while you cook? I talked to mom today about her custody arrangement with Christopher and I also did a lot of reading on the internet. I want to get your point of view on the topic."

Luke explained to Rory that he had to fight for custody of April because her mom never told him she existed. Luke didn't realize he had rights to custody until Anna decided she was moving to New Mexico. When Luke tried to come to an agreement with Anna, she refused and said that he had no right to make any decisions. That was when he hired a lawyer. Their arrangement was different because April lived in New Mexico. He didn't want to disrupt her school schedule so his visits were limited to spring break and summer. He also had visitation one weekend a month, but he usually didn't see her because of school. The did Skype several times a week and they would also talk on the phone almost every day. So, he and Anna shared both physical and legal custody of April. Anna's physical percentage was much higher because she lived with her mom during the school year. Both he and Anna had rights to make legal decisions about April and we were to discuss any major life changes with each other before making decisions. For what it's worth, I hope it helps you. Rory thanked Luke and told him that it was helpful. She had a pretty good idea of the type of agreements she was going to have the lawyer create. She was hoping Logan would agree to one of them without too much trouble. She was also open to his suggestions, if he had any.

After talking to Luke, Rory called a friend of hers from Yale. They had gone to school together and still kept in touch fairly often. He was trustworthy, helpful, discreet, and would give her a break on his fees. She knew it might be costly but this was something important. She needed to get this done right the first time with no mistakes. She couldn't risk that it wouldn't be done correctly. It would open the door to the Huntzbergers if they tried to fight for custody of the baby. She trusted her friend Marty and knew he would help her without sending her to the poor house. Who was she kidding? She was already almost in the poor house as it was. She hoped that when she was done writing her book that it would be picked up by a publisher and hopefully be a big seller. There were a lot of ifs in that scenario, but she tried to remain positive. She still had some money left in her trust fund from her grandparents but she needed that money to live on while she was not working after having the baby. The investments she had made several years ago turned out not to be very lucrative and she lost quite a bit of money on them. She needed to find a more stable investment and make an attempt at recouping what was lost. Marty agreed to meet with Rory in 2 days, on Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at his office in Hartford. She thanked him for fitting her into his schedule and told him she would see him soon.

The week seemed like it would never end. Rory had her second OB appointment. The doctor informed her that everything looked good so far. He abdomen was measuring right about where it should, the baby's heart rate was strong, and everything appeared to be right on track. She told Rory she needed to schedule a full ultrasound at around 18-20 weeks. This made Rory nervous so she questioned the doctor about why she needed one. The doctor explained to Rory that it was a completely safe non-invasive procedure that allowed them to get a good look at the baby's growth, organs, and other important systems. Every pregnant woman not only has one but wants them all the time. It will give you a chance to actually see your baby. You'll get to see how everything is growing. You will even be able to see what gender the baby is, if that is something you want to know. Of course, sometimes the baby doesn't cooperate and hides that from us, but most moms get to find out, if it's something they want to know. Rory was still undecided on this decision.

Thursday finally arrived but the day was going by slowly. The anticipation of meeting with Marty was messing with Rory's head. She couldn't get her mind off of it. Getting the custody agreement started was one step in getting to find out what Logan was thinking with regard to his involvement with their child. She tried to busy herself at work, but she had difficulty focusing on one task for too long. Finally, she told Esther that she wasn't feeling well and asked her to lock up for the day when she was ready to leave. Esther agreed that Rory didn't look well and suggested she go home and get some rest. Rory wished that was possible but there was no way she was going to be able to sleep. Instead, she decided to visit her mom at the Dragonfly in order to kill some time before she had to leave for Hartford.

While at the Dragonfly visiting her mom, Rory ran her custody ideas past Lorelai. Rory told her mom that she was going to have 2 or maybe 3 different agreements drawn up to present to Logan. He can choose whatever works best for him or even make suggestions to amend one of them to fit his ideas. Rory was hoping that Logan would want to have contact with their child. Although it was the scenario that complicated her life the most, she did want their child to know their father. She did not want to keep Logan from his child. What Rory did not want was for the child to be exposed to the Huntzberger way of life and that is why she wanted to restrict visits to only Stars Hollow. She also did not want Logan to make an agreement he couldn't stick to. There were way too many times Christopher promised something and didn't deliver or even show up. She did not want her child to deal with a father who consistently broke promises. Lorelai told Rory that she had some good ideas and thought she was on the right track. As Rory left the Dragonfly to drive to Hartford, Lorelai told her to say hi to the naked guy. Rory just looked at her mom in amusement and smiled.

Rory was greeted by Marty after his secretary announced she had arrived for her appointment. They walked back to his office and spent a few minutes catching up since they last saw each other, which was about a year ago. They both discussed how their lives were shaping up. Marty mentioned that his wife had just had their first child, a boy named Jack. Rory congratulated him. After they ran out of small talk, Rory felt it was time to tell Marty why she was there.

"I'm glad to hear that you and your wife are doing so well. Your little boy is beautiful! You are so lucky to have him. I'm sure you are the best dad," Rory added to the end of their conversation.

Marty blushed, "Well, I don't know about being the best dad, but I do the best I can. I love my little guy and I'm happy to be his dad." Marty then added, "So Rory, what brings you into my office today. How can I help you?"

Rory looked at Marty with unease in her face and replied, "I need some help with drawing up a few custody agreements. Is that something you can help me with? If not, is there someone not too expensive that you can recommend?"

Marty looked at Rory in surprise as he said, "I…I…I didn't know you had a child. How old?"

"Well, I don't have a child yet. I'm pregnant and due in May. I'm no longer involved with the father of the baby and do not see a future with him, so I wanted to have several custody agreements drawn up for him to choose from. The likelihood of us being together is pretty non-existent at this point. I spoke to him and told him about what I was thinking. He just needs to choose one of the options I present to him. Although, I am open to his reasonable suggestions," Rory stated to Marty with surprising ease.

"Well…uh…why don't you tell me what you have in mind and I'll see what I can do," Marty responded with practicality.

Rory began to explain that she wanted at least 2 different agreements, maybe three. She was going to present them to the baby's father and see what he thinks about them. He may accept them as they are or ask for revisions. The most basic idea Rory wanted represented in the agreement was a promise to appear. Essentially, if he promised to show up at any time for any event, it was a binding agreement. Not keeping the agreement would be considered like a strike on the custody record. If he earned 3 strikes by not showing up when he agreed, then he would lose visitation rights to his child. The other idea that was important was Rory would maintain sole physical and legal custody of their child. All visitation would take place either by regularly scheduled visits or advanced notice of a visit. All visits would take place only in Stars Hollow and nowhere else. The other big thing Rory wanted in the agreement was a clause that stated if he were to meet the definition of an absent father, his rights would be terminated. Rory did not want her child to go through the same pain she had to go through by having a father who said he would show up and repeatedly disappointed her.

"So, what I really need is several custody agreements that outline my terms," Rory told Marty.

Marty replied, "Well it's not unusual for a parent to have several versions of a custody agreement for the other parent to agree to. But, the clause about terminating parental rights is a new one to me. I'm not sure that we can legally write that into an agreement. I need to check on that."

Marty asked Rory to outline the basic things she wanted to see in the agreement and he would prepare several drafts for her to look at and make a decision. Rory told Marty her non-negotiable points in each agreement. The most important thing is that I get sole legal and physical custody of the child. Rory explained that she wanted the father to have regularly scheduled visitation and nothing else. The other really important idea is that not showing up for visitation when agreed or scheduled will have consequences. She handed him the list she made for each of the different agreements.

Agreement #1

The mother has sole legal and physical custody.

Prior to the age of 1 year all visits will be scheduled by the mother at the mother's convenience.

Father has regularly scheduled visitation once a month for 72 hours beginning at the age of 1 year.

All visits will be located with the town limits of Stars Hollow, CT.

A visit may be missed for the father's own reasons with 48 hours of notice, but not more than 4 times in a calendar year and no more than once every 3 months.

A visit may be missed without 48 hours of notice, with proof within 24 hours of the missed visitation, if one of the following situations has occurred:

Severe illness that causes hospitalization of the father or any of his immediate family members

Death in the father's family

Urgent and unforeseeable work-related business

Airline strikes that prevent travel

Major weather events that prevent or make travel unnecessarily risky

The mother will make every effort not conflict with the father's visitation given the same guidelines listed above.

Missed visitation with proper notice may be rescheduled at the mother's convenience.

Missed visitation without notice but proof of a valid reason within 24 hours will not be rescheduled.

Missed visitation without notice and no proof of a reason will not be rescheduled and will be considered an "absent father" event.

A maximum of 3 "absent father" events in one calendar year will cause the father's visitation rights to be revoked.

The father agrees the child will not be exposed to or contacted by any member of the father's family through phone calls or video platforms without written consent from the mother and the mother must be present during the contact.

The mother will make every effort not conflict with the father's visitation given the same guidelines listed above.

Once the child reaches age 6, the mother will add a scheduled weekly phone call or face time with the father. This privilege will have the same stipulations as visits for missed phone call/face time contact.

Agreement #2

The mother has sole legal and physical custody

The father agrees to give up all visitation rights

The father agrees to no contact until the child reaches the age of 21, or graduates from college, whichever date occurs later

The child must consent to any contact initiated by father at or after the age of 21.

Agreement #3

The mother has sole legal and physical custody of the child and the father agrees to give up all parental rights to the child.

Marty read the list of agreements. As he did so, he seemed surprised by the third agreement. He wondered if Rory wanted this as an option.

Marty asked Rory, "Do you really want the father to terminate his rights to the child?"

"I am open to any of the 3 agreements there in front of you. I don't care either way what he decides to do. I want him to know that it's an option if that is what he wants," Rory said without emotion.

"Okay, let me get together with our firm's custody specialists. They are well versed in family law and can let me know if there is anything you want which may violate that. I can also see if there is anything else you might be entitled to that you didn't stipulate. I noticed that you have nothing in any of the agreements about child support or money in any way," Marty informed her.

Rory stated, "I've done a lot of research and I'm pretty sure everything I want is outlined in one of the three agreements. I've already told the father I'm not interested in child support or any amount of money. I did tell him that if he felt the need to support the child, a college fund would be nice. Of course, if he decides to terminate his rights, and still wants to set up the fund, I would want it to be anonymous."

Marty looked at Rory with sadness in his eyes. She looked back at him with the hint of a smile as she told him, "Marty, don't look so sad. I'm okay with all of this. I really and truly am. I have all the support I need at home to help me raise this baby alone, if that is what he decides he wants. My main concern is the health, safety, and emotional well-being of my child. I don't want their relationship to be like I had with my father."

"Do you still love him?" He asked quietly.

Rory sighed and answered, "Truthfully, a part of me will always love him. But, there is no life for me there, so I have moved on. He cannot give me what I want and I don't want to be his third wheel."

"Do you mind if I ask who the father is?" Marty said tentatively.

Rory hesitated, thought carefully, and then said, "I think you probably already know who he is, but I will not confirm anything. It's his choice to tell people, but I have a strong feeling he won't. It wouldn't be good for his public image."

"I figured you would say something like that," Marty nodded.

Marty then continued, "I'll be in touch in a couple of days about the agreements."

Rory smiled and gave her friend a hug, "Thanks again for doing this for me. I know you will be honest and discreet. I appreciate that. I'll see you again soon. Bye Marty."


	11. Chapter 11: The News Around Town

**Author's Note: Thanks again for all of the positive reviews and follows. It helps to keep my motivation going. I updated the description of the story to indicate that it starts with following AYITL, but then goes AU. This is a story that has not been told by ASP. It is my version of where I think the story should go. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 11: The News Around the Town**

As soon as Rory had the custody agreements finalized, she sent Logan an email asking how he wanted to receive them. She didn't want to send them without asking because she wasn't sure where he would want them delivered. When he responded, he indicated that he wanted them sent to his office. He asked if she could put them in a generic packing envelope and mark it "personal and confidential." As a rule, his secretary opened all of his mail unless it was marked as such. It was pretty common so she wouldn't be surprised to see the phrase on an envelope. Rory agreed and told Logan to expect them within the week.

With the custody papers out of the way, Rory felt she could relax and begin to enjoy being pregnant and the idea she was going to be a mom. Logan's response to the custody papers didn't worry her because she was fine with whatever he decided. Her next task was to arrange a staff meeting at the Gazette in order to get everyone to agree to a schedule. This would enable her to do the job for which she was hired, editor. Currently, she was editing, writing, layout, sales, advertising, payroll, and delivery. She felt like it was a one-person job. After her meeting with Sean Roundbottom, she realized there were a lot of people on staff who were either not doing their job or were waiting to be told what to do. Rory needed to put an end to all of that and get things running smoothly at the paper before the baby arrived on the scene.

Rory sent and email to all Gazette staff with the subject line stating the meeting was mandatory. She indicated three dates and times and would choose the one that worked the best for the majority of the employees. Those who could not make the time and date she chose, she would catch up with later. In her email she also informed the staff she was going to draw up a work schedule and they needed to come prepared with some idea of a schedule which would suit them best. Rory knew the last several years the paper was run by an editor who required little of the staff. Bernie Roundbottom would take on anything that needed to be accomplished after the staff turned in their stories. It occurred to Rory, he was pretty much a one man show. Rory could not let that continue. She needed everyone to do the job for which they were getting paid. She did not have the time or energy to pick up everyone's slack the way Bernie had. Rory knew this might make a lot of the staff unhappy but she needed an idea of who was serious about staying on at the paper. If they did not like the new changes, Rory would make adjustments and hire for positions if current staff decided to leave. A working schedule was not an unreasonable request, especially since, in some cases, they were getting paid for a job they were not currently doing. With that accomplished, she decided to head to Luke's for lunch.

When Rory walked into Luke's for lunch she saw Babette, Miss Patty, and Gypsy sitting at a table having lunch and most likely sharing the latest town gossip. She waved to Luke and headed over to their table. She knew telling everyone in town she was pregnant was going to be a chore. She hated the idea of repeating herself over and over, answering the same questions. She decided telling these three ladies would take care of things for her. Once they knew, word would spread quickly and Rory didn't mind. Everyone who was important in her life already knew, so they were the next logical choice. As she neared the table they began to hush their conversation undoubtedly so she wouldn't overhear what they were saying. They greeted her warmly with smiles and hugs, as they always did. Rory asked if it was okay to join them and they agreed with enthusiasm. After engaging in some small talk and catching up on the news they had to share, Rory intrigued them with a hint of conspiracy. The three ladies were hooked immediately.

Rory began with a whisper, "I have some incredibly juicy news and I immediately thought of you ladies to tell first."

Miss Patty whispered, "I don't know honey, are you sure you have news we haven't heard? We almost always know everything going on in this town long before just about anyone."

Babette agreed, "Yeah, we have a pretty good track record. Except for the few times East Side Tilly beat us to it."

Rory looked conspiratorially at the three ladies and assured them her news was fresh off the presses and was the biggest news in the town to date. They were hooked. Rory could swear she saw drool fall from the corner of Miss Patty's mouth. She asked if they were ready? All three of them nodded.

Before revealing her news to them, Rory looked around in order to build suspense. Okay she said, "I heard that one of the younger women in town is pregnant."

Their jaws dropped, eyes popped, and they sucked in a breath of surprise simultaneously. Rory was loving this. All three of them stared at her waiting for her to continue.

After a few seconds of silence and staring Babette said in a not so quiet voice, "Well, are you going to tell us who it is? Do you know who it is? I can't stand it; how did we not hear this before you?"

Miss Patty and Gypsy tried to shush Babette. She immediately apologized for her outburst and looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Luckily, the lunch rush was winding down and the diner was relatively empty.

Rory whispered, "Of course I know who it is. Do you think I would bring you news this big and not be able to reveal who it was? I figured you may already know, but if you didn't I could let you in on the secret."

The three ladies could not stand the suspense any longer as together they whispered quite loudly, "Well, who is it?"

Rory smiled at them as she revealed, "It's me!"

Immediately the women looked at Rory with disappointment. She didn't understand their reaction. So she asked, "Hey, what's up?"

Miss Patty spoke first, "Rory, I'm not sure if you are playing a joke on us or not, but honey we know you haven't had a boyfriend in months. Why are you toying with us? There's no way you could be pregnant. So, who is it really?"

Gypsy and Babette nodded their agreement with Miss Patty. Rory was shocked they didn't believe her.

She looked at them with a serious face as she quietly reiterated her revelation, "No, really, it is me! I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby in May. I'm serious! What do I have to do to convince you, take another pregnancy test? Ask my mom or Luke, they will confirm I'm not kidding you."

The ladies looked at each other, then looked over at Luke standing behind the counter. Rory playing with them was one thing and they knew Lorelai may play along but didn't think Luke would care to play tricks on them. They looked at Rory again. Her face was looking sincere.

Finally, Gypsy asked, "I'm not saying I believe you yet so I am going to ask you some questions. I heard some time ago you bought a bunch of crackers and ginger stuff at Taylor's market. Why?

Rory responded, "I was having a terrible time with morning sickness for a few weeks, but I'm much better now."

Gypsy asked again, "If you are due in May, when did you get pregnant?"

Rory pondered the reason for this question but answered, "I'm not sure exactly, but sometime in August."

Miss Patty chimed in, "Who is the father honey?"

Rory had a feeling this would come up and answered, "I know who he is. I'm not ready to reveal that part of the news just yet. It's a complicated story and I don't want to get into it."

Babette could no longer take the suspense. She got up from the table, headed over to the counter and asked Luke to have a private word in the back. Luke looked at the woman as if she had three heads, but he agreed. When Babette came out she had a huge smile on her face. She walked right over to the table and embraced Rory in one of her classic smothering hugs that had Rory begging for air after a few seconds.

"So, it's true?" Both Miss Patty and Gypsy asked anxiously.

Rory nodded her head and smiled. She assured the women that she was happy about the pregnancy. All of them squealed with excitement at the happy news, then suddenly hushed themselves. Rory told them it was okay to let other people know. She wanted them to spread the word and knew they would be happy to have the news before anyone else. They all thanked her for being the first to know, outside of family of course. As Rory got up to leave, they all hugged her and wished her well. Their excitement was contagious. Rory smiled at Luke as she left and he smiled back. She felt immensely better at letting her secret out.

As Rory sat at her desk in the Gazette office she tried with futility to focus on the task she was attempting to complete. Her mind continued to wander, and it was mostly about baby stuff. She pondered what names she might give her baby. She also thought about whether or not to find out the baby's gender. She started a pro and con list on that idea, then a list of baby names she liked for a boy, girl, and a list that could be used either way. After getting some ideas on paper she was hoping she might be able to focus again and finish up for the day. It helped a little but she was still very distracted. She looked back at her computer's screen at her email inbox. Several of the Gazette's staff members had responded to her request for a meeting. She started a spreadsheet with the dates she proposed and began listing the names of those who responded under the date they could attend a meeting. While doing this helped her accomplish something, she was distracted by the names she was reading. When she found a name she liked she would add it to her list. It slowed down her work, but at least she was getting something done. At 4:00, she decided to close up the office and go home.

While walking back to the house, Rory was congratulated by at least ten people who came up and gave her hugs. Several others gave her smiles with a thumb's up and some just yelled congrats on the baby from across the street. She knew that the three gossiping women worked quickly but was experiencing their power first hand. By the time Rory arrived back home she was almost certain the majority of the townies in Stars Hollow knew she was pregnant. She was glad word was spreading and she wasn't the one doing it. She saw her mom's Jeep in the driveway and was glad to see she was home. She hadn't had a chance to talk to her all day and she missed her best friend.

Rory walked into the house and yelled, "Helloooo, anybody here?"

Lorelai responded with, "Yes, upstairs in the bedroom."

Rory headed upstairs. When she walked into the bedroom, she saw her mom lounging on the bed in her pajamas reading a book. Rory was surprised to see her in her pajamas so early.

"So, I hear congratulations are in order," Lorelai joked.

"Who told you?" Rory giggled.

"Well, from the number of people who came into the Dragonfly to congratulate me on becoming a…on your pregnancy, I take it you gave the information to the three gossip sisters. Am I correct?" Lorelai said sarcastically.

Rory nodded her head with a smile, "Yep, I knew they would be the go-to gals to spread the word. Now I don't have to do it myself."

"Smart thinking," Lorelai agreed.

The two Gilmore Girls sat on Lorelai's bed and discussed Rory's revelation to the town. It was a clever way to spread the news. Rory could tell her mom had other things on her mind. She knew her mom better than anyone, except maybe Luke. It wasn't unusual to find her mom home in the early afternoon, but to find her in her pajamas so early in the afternoon was a little concerning. Rory decided to ask her what was going on.

"Mom, why are you home at four in the afternoon in your pajamas?" Rory asked curiously.

Lorelai did her best to hide the true reason by saying, "Things were slow at the Dragonfly. Michel has everything under control so I decided to come home a little early today. I wanted to catch up on my reading"

Rory squinted her eyes and glared playfully at her mom, "Nice try, but what's actually going on with you? You know trying to hide anything from me is useless. We both know each other too well. Come on, fess up Mrs. Danes."

Lorelai looked at her daughter with concern and admiration. She didn't want to upset her or add to her already complicated situation and she appreciated her concern. She took a deep breath through her nose and said hesitantly, "Um…I…you…uh! She started again. You have to promise me you will not let what I tell you get under your skin and make you upset. I mean it! I really don't want to tell you this Rory. Can't we just let it go? Please?"

"Why did you say that? Now I want to know what it is even more than before. How can I promise not to be upset when I have no idea what you are going to say? How about I start with a few questions to get a general idea? Then, I can decide if I still want to know. But you have to answer honestly! Got it?" Rory demanded.

Lorelai thought for a minute and then reluctantly agreed. "Uh…Okay, I guess. Maybe that is a good idea."

Rory began, "Good, now here's my first question. Does it have anything to do with you and Luke and the possibility that you both want to have another kid?"

"No. We are both over that idea and looking forward to being, uh having…um…your baby around," Lorelai stammered. She was not used to the fact she was going have a grandchild at the age of 50 and wasn't sure how she wanted to be addressed by the baby.

Rory looked puzzled as she asked, "So, what's with the hesitation?"

Lorelai was tongue tied. She didn't want to upset Rory but then rambled, "Uh, this whole going to be a…uh…have a…um…your baby and my relationship to it and I can't say any word that will relate to what I will be called by your child is hard for me to think about at the ripe old age of just 50 and I'm not dealing with it well. And, don't say it, the name thing."

"So, what has you upset and home in your pajamas at four o'clock in the afternoon has to do with the fact that my child will have to call you some version that describes your relationship? And, I can't say any version of any word that may start with or imply that you are going to be a, um…a word that starts with grand…" 

Lorelai put her hand up to stop Rory from saying it, which immediately stopped her. Rory started laughing at her mother. She looked at her and Lorelai had a serious look on her face. She did not look amused that Rory was laughing.

After Rory's hysterical laughter subsided Lorelai explained, "I got sidetracked with your question and the implication of…No, that is not why I'm home in my pajamas. It's something else and has nothing to do with…with…the name I will be called by your child. I was flustered because I was trying to…Oh never mind. What is your next question?"

Rory asked, "Is it about gra…um, I mean Emily?"

"Nice one, I like how you avoided that word even though you were not referring to me. You're smooth Gilmore. And, yes. It has to do with my mother," Lorelai answered.

Rory took a minute to think about her next question and then asked, "Is it about her wanting you and Luke to visit for the Christmas holiday?"

"I wish it were that simple, but no," Lorelai retorted.

Rory had a feeling she knew what was going on. Her next question would give her the information she needed. It had to be what was upsetting her mom. Her grandmother was not beyond saying one thing to Rory and then turning around and taking her frustration out on Lorelai.

"Rory solemnly stated, "Grandma called and gave you an earful about me being pregnant. She is also upset that I will not tell her who the father is and she tried to get you to tell her. I can hear her ranting to you in my head. She's upset with you for the position I find myself in and it is all your fault."

Lorelai looked at her daughter as tears began to stream down her cheeks. She should have known she wouldn't be able to hide this from her. The things Emily said to Lorelai on the phone were pure, old, hateful Emily. It was like she was sixteen again and she was the one who was pregnant instead of Rory. As Lorelai raised a hand to wipe her tears, Rory walked over and embraced her. Rory was so mad at Emily in that moment she had half a mind to call her and give her a piece of her mind. The fact she was pregnant had nothing to do with her mother. Last time she talked to Emily it truly sounded like she had accepted the pregnancy. Emily had convinced Rory she was changing her mindset, but this led her to believe she was still the same old Emily of the past. Rory knew the change of her grandmother's mindset would be a challenge, and it would take some time, but she never imagined she would take Rory's pregnancy out on Lorelai. The mother and daughter sat embraced for quite some time. When it seemed they both were calm, they let go of each other. Lorelai looked at her daughter, smiled, and thanked her.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai finally said to Rory.

Rory smiled, "You don't have to be. I'm fine. I'm more upset that she took my situation out on you after I thought she was working on changing. I know the change will take time, if it happens at all. I'm moving past it as I promised and not letting it upset me. I am here for you mom, thanks for taking the brunt of Emily's anger for me. I know she is extremely unhappy with my life, but it's my life and I have decided not to let her upset me anymore. However, I do not like it when she upset's you. It has always been difficult for me to watch you be hurt by her. I guess now I know where I'm going to spend my Christmas and it's not going to be in Cape Cod."

Lorelai nodded and agreed, "Yeah, Luke and I have decided not to visit her for Christmas either. At least we'll be able to be together. Maybe Emily will learn a lesson that will help her with her change of mindset? We can always hope. What are you going to tell her?"

Rory responded immediately, "I'm going to be honest with her. I'm going to stay calm, not yell, and tell her very honestly that I will not visit her if she insists on blaming you for my life choices. I'm an adult and you are no longer responsible for what I choose to do with my life. She needs to understand that."

"Well, good luck with that challenge. I don't want you to get yourself all worked up about this. I'm fine. I'm over it. She has said and done worse things to me throughout my life. I'm hurting for you because I know how much you love her and want her in your life, and the baby's life."

Since both Gilmore Girls had worked up an appetite, they decided to go to Luke's for dinner. He was on the closing shift at the diner. Lorelai was desperate for a cup of coffee and a cheeseburger. She wasn't sure what Rory was in the mood for, but whatever it was, Luke would make sure she would get what she wanted. Rory told her mom she wanted to change and check her email before heading to the diner. They agreed to leave in about 20 minutes. Lorelai would text Luke and let him know they were on their way so he could get their meals ready. Rory told her mom to order her a bacon double cheeseburger with onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, horseradish, and peanut butter. Lorelai cringed as she looked at her daughter in horror. Rory just smiled at her mom and shrugged her shoulders.

As Rory was changing out of her work clothes, she powered up her laptop to check both her work and personal email. While she waited for the computer to load, she tried on several pairs of pants and realized she needed to go shopping soon. All of her pants were getting too tight to be comfortable. Since most of the town knew she was pregnant, she could begin to wear clothes that were suited to her growing baby bump. She put on a pair of loose-fitting leggings and an oversized sweater. She sat down at her desk to check her email before heading to the diner with her mom.

There was noting surprising in her work email, it was rare there was. She had a few more responses about the staff meeting and not much else. She opened her personal email and saw Logan's name at the top of her inbox. She was going to open it but hesitated. Her finger was poised over the mouse button. She decided not to open it yet. She wanted to enjoy her dinner with her mom. Logan's email could wait until after dinner. Rory put it out of her mind, turned off her computer, and went out to the family room to meet her mom.


	12. Chapter 12: Another Day in Stars Hollow

**Author's Note: I would like to say thanks to all the fans who have left me positive feedback on this story. I apologize for leaving you hanging so long. I'm a teacher and finding time to write during the school year is challenging. I started this story while we were on winter break. I hope to make some progress now that it is summer break. It's not the most exciting chapter, but it's getting me back into writing the story again. Please hang in there with me. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 12: Just Another Day in Stars Hollow

After dinner Rory and Lorelai decided to watch a movie. They got into their pajamas, gathered a pile of junk food, and picked something from Netflix to watch. Rory was tired and ended up falling asleep during the movie. Lorelai nudged her gently and guided her into her room. She helped her get into her bed and tucked her in for the night. Lorelai stood there and watched her daughter sleep for a few minutes. She thought about the life Rory had ahead of her. It was not what she wanted for her daughter, but Rory had made her decision and Lorelai was going to support her in every way possible.

Rory awoke earlier than usual the next morning. She felt rested and ready to face the day ahead. She remembered the email from Logan that was sitting in her inbox so she decided to check her email before getting into the shower. Since she had only mailed the custody agreements yesterday she could not imagine what he might want. She powered up her laptop and waited. She logged into her computer and opened her email. She had received several other emails since yesterday. As she looked at the list of messages in her inbox, she noticed there was one from Logan's sister, Honor. What could she possibly want? She wondered if Logan told her about the baby. Rory knew he needed someone to talk to and Honor probably was the person he was closest to that he could trust. Rory decided to read Logan's email first, then open Honor's.

To: Rory Gilmore

From: Logan Huntzberger

Subject: Touching Base

Rory,

I've been thinking a lot about our situation. I needed to discuss it with someone, so I met with Honor, and we talked for several hours. She made some good points and also had a few ideas I want to run past you. Since I haven't seen the papers yet, I will wait until after I read them. I would like to meet again once I do to discuss the situation, some ideas, and options.

Take care,

Logan

Rory was confused after reading Logan's email. It angered her that he referred to the baby as their "situation." She knew why he was doing it but it still made her mad. She was glad he reached out to his sister. Honor would be a good source of strength and support for Logan through what lies ahead. Rory wondered what ideas the two of them might have thought of that she didn't. It would be interesting to hear what Logan has to say. The part of the email that confused her the most was its tone. It sounded very blunt and unemotional. Maybe that was a good thing, but Rory wasn't sure. She opened the email form Honor.

To: Rory Gilmore

From: Honor Huntzberger

Subject: Hello

Hi Rory,

I hope this email finds you feeling well. I spoke with Logan the other day. He is really tied up in knots about the situation the two of you have created for yourselves. I wanted you to know we talked. I tried to help him set his head straight. We came up with some ideas that might work for both of you. Do me a favor, please hear him out. He really does care about what you are going through and wants to be there to support you in your time of need.

Hope to talk soon,

Honor

Wow! Rory could not get over the ability of Logan and his sister to say something without really saying anything. She shouldn't be surprised at their ability to hide facts while still getting their point across, they were raised in the newspaper business. They knew first hand how loose lips can cause problems down the road. No doubt they had both learned how to choose words carefully when corresponding in writing. Now that she had an idea what Logan and Honor were up to, she decided to jump in the shower and get ready for her day.

Rory went about her day as usual, there were no surprises. She felt she was making progress getting things at the Gazette straightened out. She couldn't wait until everything was running on a regular schedule. She was able to schedule a meeting with the majority of the staff so she could begin to get things organized and under control. Once that was accomplished, she felt she would be able to relax and not worry so much about how the paper was going to get published each week. She hoped when the Gazette was settled, she would have more time to work on her book before the baby arrived.

The bell on the door jingled. Rory turned around to see who had entered the office. It was unusual to have visitors at the Gazette office. Most people emailed or called to talk to the Gazette staff. When she turned in her chair she saw Sean Roundbottom standing near the door. He had his briefcase and looked like he was arriving for an appointment. Rory was puzzled. Did she forget an appointment? It was unusual for Sean to come into the office as he always worked from home. That was not an issue for Rory, especially since the office was small and crowded.

She smiled as she greeted him, "Hi Sean. Uh…did we have an appointment today?"

Sean smiled back at Rory and stuttered, "Uh…um…I…uh…I wanted to make sure you understood the budget numbers for your upcoming staff meeting. Did you have any questions or concerns that involved the budget or money in general?"

Rory thought for a moment. The meeting was tomorrow, but she didn't necessarily need to go over the budget with Sean. Discussing the budget now was a little premature as she wasn't going to worry about it until she had an idea of the staff numbers after tomorrow's meeting.

Rory responded, "Sean, it was so nice of you to come down to the office and check. Since the meeting is tomorrow, I was hoping we could meet early next week to go over the budget. If we do it now, the numbers I'm using may not be accurate. I'd like to wait until the fallout from tomorrow's meeting. I really do appreciate you taking the time to come here and check with me. Thank you so much!"

When Rory saw the expression on Sean's face, she realized maybe he was here for a different reason and the Gazette budget was his excuse to come to the office to talk to her. He was definitely nervous. He was shuffling back and forth on his feet and playing with his hat in his hands. She decided to put him at ease by being frank and saying what she was thinking. "Sean, you look like you are about to jump out of your skin. Is everything okay?"

With a surprised look on his face Sean uttered, "I just found out that you are pregnant. I know this is not the best time or place to discuss this, but I needed to talk to you about a few things."

Rory couldn't imagine what Sean would want to know about her pregnancy. She gave him a puzzled look and asked, "What things do we need to discuss that have to do with me being pregnant?"

Sean still had that nervous, I am going to jump out of my skin, look about him. It was beginning to make Rory uncomfortable. She asked him if he wanted to go somewhere and chat. He indicated he would and she suggested Luke's as she was a little hungry and could use some coffee. Sean agreed that Luke's was good. Rory let the few staff members that were in the office know she was leaving and asked them to hold down the fort while she was gone.

Rory and Sean walked the few short blocks to Luke's in silence. Rory was preoccupied by thoughts of what Sean might say. She really hoped he wasn't going to ask her to leave the paper because she's pregnant. Legally, he couldn't ask her to do that. When they arrived at the diner, Lorelai was sitting at the counter. She and Luke looked up at the ringing of the bell and shot curious glances at the couple walking into the diner together. They headed over to the table in the corner and Luke came over to pour coffee for Rory while asking Sean if he wanted some too. When Luke headed back behind the counter, Lorelai whispered to Luke, "Who is that? I don't think I've ever seen him before." Luke explained that Sean is Bernie Roundbottom's grandson and that he is the Bookkeeper for the Gazette. He doesn't live in Stars Hollow which is why he is an unfamiliar face to her. Lorelai glanced at Sean again and whispered to Luke, "He's pretty good-looking for a Roundbottom. I didn't know the Gazette had a bookkeeper."

Luke replied, "Someone has to keep track of the finances for the paper. And, don't get any ideas about Rory and Sean becoming a couple. Rory's life is complicated enough right now."

Lorelai scoffed, "I wasn't thinking that! I just think he's cute."

After their food arrived, Rory asked Sean to tell her what was on his mind. Sean began to look uncomfortable again but decided it was time to tell her.

He began, "When I heard about your pregnancy, I was surprised. You didn't look pregnant when we met and I thought you were single. I'm embarrassed to say it, but looking at you now, I can see that you are. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I hope that you decide to stay with the paper through your pregnancy and after you have the baby. I...If...If that is what you decided, to have the baby, or whatever. I'm going to stop talking now."

Rory giggled at Sean's last statement. She continued to be puzzled about what was on Sean's mind.

"I'm a little confused, let me see if I understand you. You are worried that I am going to leave the paper while I'm pregnant and/or after I have the baby? By the way, I am going to have and keep the baby even though the father's…uh…um…decision is up in the air. Why would I leave a job I love, in my hometown I love to live in, when I have a baby on the way?"

Sean breathed a heavy sigh of relief at Rory's question. He replied, "We don't pay you very much to do a job that is physically and emotionally demanding. I was thinking that you might search for a higher paying job. I was also concerned that you might want to stay home after you have your baby and not work at all. Since I really don't know much about your personal life outside the paper, I really didn't know what to expect and I was nervous about asking you."

Now it was time for Rory to sigh heavily. She looked at Sean and said, "I was worried that you were going to ask me to leave the paper because I'm unmarried and pregnant. Which, by the way is illegal."

Rory and Sean looked at each other and began laughing hysterically. This caused curious glances toward them from the lunch crowd, Luke, and Lorelai. They continued to laugh and paid no attention to the looks. Both of them had realized they completely misread the other's intensions and were glad to clear the air at last. After their laughter subsided, Rory began to explain a little more about her situation to Sean.

She began, "Long, long, long story really short; The father of the baby is an old college flame. I've opened the door for him to be in the picture, only for the baby, if he chooses. I'm currently waiting for him to choose his path. I had several custody agreements drawn up and I await his answer. I love him but there is no room for me and a baby in his life. It's extremely complicated. I am not planning on quitting my job at the paper, it's my career. Not only do I need the money, I love the job. This is what I went to school to do. Running my own paper is a dream job I never thought I would get the chance to do."

Sean replied, "I am glad to hear you say that. I don't think you understand what a relief it is for me to hear you say it. Rory, you have only been at the paper a short time and it is already making more money than when my grandfather ran it. I don't know what you are doing differently, but I'm glad to have you and know you are enjoying it."

Rory continued to explain to Sean that the reason she was trying to get the budget and schedules figured out is because she wants to have everything running smoothly at the paper before the baby comes. She also explained that she has been doing the job of about 10 people and it can't continue like that. There are people being paid for a job they are not doing. Sean seemed surprised to hear this. It was his impression that most of the writers were working from home. Rory explained that the paper needed more than writers. The people that were hired to do layout have not shown up, there are no custodians cleaning up, and other than Charlie, Esther, and myself there is nobody else who comes to the office on a regular basis. She planned the staff meeting in order to meet as many of the staff as possible and set some ground rules. She didn't invite Sean because she knows he is doing his job from home. She needs the paper to practically run itself, like it should. She is the supervisor, not the do-it-all-one-man-team.

Sean really had no idea the staff was in such bad shape. The paper was being published, delivered, and making money so he didn't worry about it. He was glad Rory brought all this to his attention. He informed her that he would attend the staff meeting in order to support her. He's a familiar face to the majority of the Gazette Staff and having him there will help the staff understand that Rory is in charge now and what she says is how things will be run.

Rory thanked Sean for his time, support, and energy. She appreciated that he cared as much for the paper as she did. His support will go a long way in making the Gazette a smoother, more profitable paper. They both decided it was time to head back to the paper. Sean picked up the bill and paid Luke for their lunch. Rory thanked him. He explained that because it was a business lunch, it was actually the Gazette that was paying. He began to explain about expense accounts and Rory shook her head and begged him to stop. It was too much for her head right now.

After Sean left the office, Rory desperately wanted to go home. She looked at her to do list and decided she needed to put in a few more hours before that was possible. She needed to get things ready for the staff meeting, which was tomorrow morning. She had to be prepared for the meeting and whatever backlash it may cause. Having Sean there would hopefully lessen the effects of the changes she planned to put into place. She set about accomplishing the tasks on her to do list.

Rory stayed at the office an hour longer than she had planned. Lorelai was worried she was working too many hours and decided to stop in on her way to Luke's. She was determined to get her to leave the office for dinner. The bell on the door chimed and Rory looked up from her desk. When she saw her mom, she was worried Lorelai would lecture her on the long hours she was putting in at the paper. She was surprised when Lorelai grabbed her coat and said, "Let's eat, I'm starving and I know you are too." Rory smiled, grabbed her coat, and locked up the office for the night.

After dinner, Rory was sitting at her desk in her room trying to decide whether or not she wanted to call Logan. She was torn between waiting until she knew he read the documents she sent and calling him before they arrived. Did it make a difference either way? She had already sent them, so she couldn't change what was in them. She also offered Logan an opportunity to add his input and change a few things. She decided she would call him tomorrow evening after she came home from the office. She needed to conserve her energy to get through the Gazette staff meeting tomorrow morning. With that thought, she decided to say goodnight to Luke and Lorelai and go to bed.

The staff meeting at the Gazette went far better than Rory thought it would. It seemed that most of the staff accepted her as their new leader. There was some grumbling about sticking to a designated schedule, but overall the meeting ended on a positive note. Rory was glad Sean had attended, as there were many questions asked for which she did not have the answers, and Sean was able to help her out. Everyone had left and the office was quiet. Even Esther and Charlie went home. Rory decided to go home too. The long days she put in to prepare the meeting coupled with the long days ahead of her made her yearn for a nap. She locked up the office and headed home to get some rest.

After a soak in the tub and a nap, Rory was feeling refreshed and decided to call Logan. She wanted to hear what the ideas were that he and his sister Honor thought up. She dialed his cell and it went directly to voicemail, so she left a message. Feeling hungry, Rory walked into the kitchen to look for something to eat. The morning sickness she had was short lived, and found she was hungry almost all the time lately. She put her hand on her growing baby bump and realized it felt bigger since the last time she thought about it. Her regular clothes did not fit anymore and she need to go shopping for maternity clothes as soon as possible. She couldn't continue to walk around in the two pair of leggings she owned that fit and Luke's big shirts. She needed to buy clothes and she needed to do it soon.

Deciding that shopping was the more urgent, Rory called Lorelai at the Dragonfly to see if she could coax her into going shopping. Who was she kidding? She knew her mom would jump at the chance to go shopping in a heartbeat. As the phone rang, Rory remembered she needed to check her bank account. She logged in online and looked at her available balance. Maybe shopping would have to wait until her next check? She checked the balance of her savings account and was pleased with what she saw. However, when she placed her hand on her growing baby bump, she knew the amount would not last long once she went on maternity leave.

"Hello, hello, Rory? Are you there? Please answer me before I begin to go berserk!" Lorelai began to worry when Rory did not respond.

Rory began, "Uh…Hi mom. Don't go berserk. I'm here. It's just that I decided to look at my bank account and zoned out for a second. I'm fine, but the reason I called you is off the table at the moment. I wanted to go shopping for maternity clothes, but my account tells me otherwise. It'll have to wait until my next paycheck. I'm about out of funds at the moment."

Lorelai responded, "Shopping sounds like what we both need at the moment. I have to get away, Michele is driving me mad. Don't worry about the money, I'll help you out. I've seen what you've been wearing lately, but I didn't want to mention it. I knew you would get around to it eventually, and Luke wants his shirts back. Please, let me take you shopping!"

Rory thought about what her mom said and decided to take her up on the offer. "Thanks mom, I appreciate your help. I am desperate for decent clothing and I absolutely can't afford anything at the moment. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"I'll come get you, it gets me out of here and away from Michele faster. I need to leave before a homicidal rage kicks in. Are you ready to go or do you need time?" Lorelai asked.

Rory explained to Lorelai how her day was going. She was refreshed and ready to go. Lorelai said she would pick her up immediately.

After an extremely productive and successful shopping trip, Lorelai and Rory decided to stop at Luke's for dinner. He was on the closing shift and they knew he would enjoy seeing them. As they entered the diner, Luke looked up and smiled at his beautiful ladies. He mentioned they looked tired and worn out. They explained they had spent the majority of the day shopping with great success and immense damage to the credit card. Luke laughed and began to fill their coffee mugs. He asked if they wanted the usual and Lorelai enthusiastically shook her head yes, but Rory was perusing the menu for something different. She had begun to have some unusual cravings and thought about ordering something different. Lorelai glared at her daughter to indicate she was starving and wanted food as quickly as possible. Luke decided to get Lorelai's burger going while Rory decided what she wanted to eat. When he came back to the table, Rory ordered. She wanted an omelet and a side of peanut butter. Luke didn't even flinch when he heard her order, but Lorelai made loud gagging noises. All three of them laughed at Rory's choice. Lately, she had been craving peanut butter with just about everything. They decided to hang out at the diner with Luke until closing. Rory was exhausted, but it was a good exhausted feeling. She was genuinely happy with the direction she saw her life going. She had the love and support of the two people who meant most to her, everything was going well with her pregnancy, and her career was beginning to take off. What more could she ask for?

The next morning, Rory went to the Gazette and was pleasantly surprised to see several of the employees who were scheduled to work waiting to be let into the building. She greeted everyone with a smile and thanked them for sticking to the new schedule. Once everyone was inside she realized working space was lacking and something would need to be done about the issue. She looked around the room and saw clutter and disorganization everywhere. Rory needed to find a solution quickly. As she looked at the office, she realized a complete remodel would be necessary in order to make it a functional newspaper office that was to be shared by writers, layout, delivery, and editing among many other departments as well. Sharing the workspace with everyone wouldn't be necessary all the time, but there would be times when a deadline was looming and several departments would need to occupy the space at the same time. The office was a least twice the size of the Yale Daily News office and they were able to make it a productive workspace. She knew this office would be sufficient, it just needed an overhaul. She would need to call Sean and see what could be done about this given their current budget. She apologized to the staff and explained that she understood the office was overcrowded at the moment, but it was a temporary situation until it could be remodeled.

Once Rory was sure that the staff had adequate working space, she decided to catch up on messages and email. Email was the easier of the two tasks, so she tackled that first. Nothing major or urgent with her work email, so she decided to check her personal email. She remembered the messages from Logan and Honor and realized she never got back to either of them. Rory did not want to be distracted from what was turning out to be a productive workday, so she did not respond to them yet and began checking voicemail and the ancient Gazette answering machine. She realized, she needed a secretary and made a note to discuss that with Sean as well. None of the messages from the Gazette answering machine were urgent, so she called Sean to discuss what could be done about the remodel of the office and the possibility of a secretary, or maybe even two. After about two hours of solid writing, Rory needed a break. She thought about calling Logan again and decided it was time. She was going to go home for lunch so she would call him when she was at the house.


	13. Chapter 13: Emily Strikes Again

**Author's Note: If you are a fan of Emily Gilmore you will probably not like this chapter. I was not a huge fan of Emily, but she is a character that was designed to be "loved to hate." She has her good moments, but overall, I was never fond of her. Don't despair, she will eventually find her way back into the story.**

Chapter 13: Emily Strikes Again

Rory decided to eat lunch before calling Logan. As usual, she was starving. After eating, she made herself comfortable in her room and called Logan. It would be about 5 or 6 o'clock UK time. She listened to the phone ring and hoped it would not go to voicemail. She needed to talk to him and figure out where he stands with the baby. After the fourth ring, he answered the phone with his usual, Logan Huntzberger here. Rory said hello and heard nothing but silence on the line.

"Hello…hello Logan, can you hear me? Are you there?"

Logan whispered, "Rory, I'm surprised to hear from you. Did you get my email? Why are you calling?"

Rory answered with confusion, "Yes, I did get your email. Honor sent me one too. I'm calling to hear the ideas you mentioned. You were so vague with the details. Have you received the custody agreements yet? I want you to have input as long as you keep the all or nothing deal I suggested."

"Rory, did you read the email I sent about an hour ago? From what you are saying, it sounds as if you are out of the loop. Do me a favor, don't read it alone. I promise you, it will make your blood boil, but it has nothing to do with me or the custody papers you sent. I did receive them, but I have not had time to go over them yet. Something big has happened and you need to read that email. I can't go into any more detail than that. Please read it with your mom, or Lane, or just somebody. I have to go now Rory. Talk soon?" Logan hung up the phone.

Rory sat there with the phone in her hand, her jaw on the floor, and waves of panic coursing through her entire body. She wondered what Logan could be talking about. The fact he whispered means that he was not able to talk freely. The only way to find out what he was referring to, was to read the email he mentioned. But, she was home alone and wanted to heed his advice not to read it alone. She wanted to drive over to the Dragonfly and see if Lorelai had time to help her figure out what was going on. She decided to call first to make sure her mom was there. It was lunchtime and Lorelai often went to Luke's for lunch. As she dialed the number, she heard the front door open and Lorelai called her name. Rory always thought her mom had amazing timing. It was like she could read Rory's mind.

"Hi sweets! I stopped by the Gazette to grab you for lunch only to find out you decided to go home. Are you feeling okay? Is everything alright?" Lorelai said with a concerned look on her face.

Rory replied, "Uh…well…um…I was having a great day until I just got off the phone with Logan. I came home for lunch because I wanted to call him from here rather than the office. I just had an extremely weird conversation, if you could call it that, with him. He was whispering to me about an email he sent about an hour ago. He said I needed to read it as soon as possible, but not alone. Now I'm having a complete anxiety attack over what is in that email. I was just getting ready to call you to see if you were available come home and help me figure this thing out. You must have read my mind. I need to know what's going on and Logan wouldn't give me any details."

Lorelai walked over to Rory and embraced her in a long hug. She reassured her she would help her get to the bottom of whatever was going on, but she wanted Rory to calm her nerves a little.

Lorelai asked, "Did you have lunch yet? If you haven't you should start there. Food always makes things better."

Rory explained, "Lunch was the first thing I did when I got home. Now I feel like I'm going to lose my lunch because I'm freaking out about the email. I can't take it anymore. I just need to know what it says. Let's go to my room so I can pull it up on the computer. There is no sense in calming down only to be upset again by what may be in the email. Logan made it sound like it was going to be earthshattering."

Lorelai suggested she should read the email first. Rory agreed. Should would rather hear it second hand through a filter. Lorelai may be able to gradually fill Rory in and make the news easier to take. After Rory logged into the computer and opened her email, Lorelai instructed Rory to sit or lie on the bed while she read the email. Once Lorelai understood what it contained, she would fill Rory in with the news.

"Okay, you ready? Here goes nothing." Lorelai whispered to herself.

Rory decided to lie down on the bed and try to relax.

To: Rory Gilmore

From: Logan Huntzberger

Re: Important News You Need to Know

Rory,

I received the package with the custody agreements yesterday. I have not had a chance to look at them. My conversation with Honor sheds some light on the situation and there were some ideas I wanted to go over with you, but now I don't see the point.

You probably already know that Emily spoke to my parents about the baby. If you are not aware this happened, I'm sorry you have to find out this way. I have no clue how she figured out I was the father. I know you didn't tell her. Either she took a lucky guess or maybe hired a private detective. I wouldn't put it past her to do either. Needless to say, my parents were completely shocked. They had no idea we were in contact with each other. When my parents confronted me about the baby I was so thrown off my guard they could tell by my reaction it was true. They came to London and were in my flat when I arrived home. I'm sorry Rory, they ambushed me and I was not prepared for any of it at all. I didn't have a fighting chance to deny the claim. They could see it on my face. So, the preverbal cat is out of the bag. I'm not sure how this changes anything but keeping my parents from their grandchild is not going to be an easy thing to do.

Again, I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I'm going to go through with the plan we discussed. I'll look at the agreements you had drawn up and get back to you with my decision as soon as possible.

Take care,

Logan

As Lorelai read the email she was silently fuming. How dare Emily stick her nose in business where it doesn't belong. She had no right to go poking around in Rory's private life. Lorelai wondered how Emily was able to figure out Logan was the father. Even she had not thought of the possibility until Rory told her about the father.

Rory could no longer take the suspense. She begged, "Please tell me, the silence is killing me over here. What's up? How bad is it?"

Lorelai took a long, slow, deep breath through her nose, paused a second, tried to remain calm for Rory's sake, and began, "It seems there are other people who may have figured out Logan is the father of the baby. How this information was discovered is unknown at this point. This person took it upon themselves to inform the Huntzbergers that they have a grandchild on the way. When Logan was confronted, no ambushed is a better word, he was so taken by surprise that they could tell it was true by the look on his face. He had no opportunity to deny it."

Rory sat on the bed in shock. The absolute last thing she wanted to happen was for the Huntzbergers to know she was pregnant with Logan's child. She hated everything they stood for and was adamant they would have nothing to do with her child. She began to fume.

Rory sneered at her mother through gritted teeth, "It was Emily, wasn't it? I don't know how she figured it out, but that woman has got to be stopped. She is constantly putting her nose in where it does not belong. She has made a difficult situation impossible."

Lorelai was beginning to worry about Rory's stress level. It wasn't good for her or the baby to be so upset. She was concerned that Rory might end up in the hospital. She was past furious with her mother. She has done some cruel things to Lorelai in the past, but this is the ultimate of cruel, although Emily will not see it that way. Lorelai's main concern was to try to calm Rory.

She explained, "Logan also mentioned that he received the custody papers you sent. He has not had the opportunity to look at them, but he plans to tomorrow. It sounds like he has decided to keep to the plans you discussed when he was here. That sounds promising. Right?"

Rory was sitting on the bed shaking with anger at how her grandmother was, once again, able to have complete disregard for the private matters of others. She has singlehandedly ruined her grandchild's life and the child has yet to take a breath on this Earth. How dare she! Lorelai tried to get Rory to calm down, but nothing seemed to be working. She tried all the tricks she knew and Rory's anger continued to spin out of control. She has never seen Rory this angry before. She was in full mama bear mode and her child was still in the womb. She worried about Rory's health and the health of her baby. She decided to call Luke to see if he could come over and help with getting Rory to chill out.

Luke answered the phone on the first ring, "Luke's diner, Luke speaking. How may I help you?"

Lorelai, on the verge of tears struggled to ask, "Luke, I need you at the house now! Please! Come as quickly as you can."

Luke dropped the phone, yelled to Caesar that he had a family emergency, and was out the door in less than five seconds. He decided running to the house would be the fastest way to get there, so he took off on foot.

Lorelai heard screaming coming from Rory's bathroom. When she arrived at the door she saw Rory clutching her stomach and violently heaving up the contents of her lunch. Once Rory stopped she slumped against the wall of the bathroom. She was still upset but the violent episode of vomiting seemed to have taken her energy. She was still breathing heavy and occasionally yelling about what Emily had done. Lorelai took a cool cloth and was wiping Rory's forehead while whispering calming words to her overwrought daughter. Silently Lorelai was fuming with Emily's latest misstep.

When Luke arrived her found both Rory and Lorelai on the floor of the bathroom. Rory was breathing so hard he was afraid she might hyperventilate. Lorelai was whispering to her in an attempt to calm her. Lorelai asked Luke to carry Rory into the bedroom and lay her on the bed. He picked Rory up, carried her to her room and placed her gently on her bed. She was still breathing rapidly and looked pale. Lorelai asked Rory if she wanted some water but Rory did not reply. She continued to stare into space while breathing heavily and sporadically yelling about the situation.

Lorelai trembled as she asked Luke, "Do you think we should take her to the hospital? I'm worried all this stress is not healthy for Rory and the baby."

Luke looked at Rory as she lay on the bed. He tried to get her to respond to a question, but she would not, or possibly could not, answer him. She did not look good, Suddenly, Rory clutched her stomach, curled into a ball on the bed, and began to scream. Luke looked at Lorelai and told her to get the Jeep started. He agreed she needed medical attention. Luke walked over to Rory, gathered her up in his strong arms, and gently carried her to the Jeep. He thought briefly about calling 911 but decided against it. If they were able to get Rory in the Jeep, then getting her to the hospital would not be a problem. Lorelai climbed into the back with Rory and cradled her head in her lap. Luke drove as fast as possible while trying to think about getting there safely.

Luke and Lorelai succeeded in getting Rory to the hospital. She was currently sedated and the doctor was monitoring her and the baby. He was concerned that she showed some signs of early labor, but the medicine they administered in her IV was successful at stopping the contractions. They wanted to monitor Rory and the baby overnight just to be safe. Lorelai agreed; it was for the best. She didn't want to lose Rory, or the baby at this point. The doctor assured Luke and Lorelai that Rory and the baby were going to be fine but Lorelai decided to spend the night with Rory in her hospital room and there was no way Luke was going to leave either of his girls right now. So the little family of three, almost four, spent the night at the hospital.

The next morning, Luke and Lorelai were having coffee in the hall outside Rory's hospital room. Lorelai filled Luke in on the events that brought them there. Luke was beyond furious at Emily. Why couldn't she learn to leave other people's business alone? Just because someone is part of your family does not give you the right to try to control their business. When Luke thought about what the doctor said about the possibility of Rory having the baby early, it angered him even more. Someone had to put Emily in her place, and he was going to be the one to do it. He just hoped Lorelai would let him loose on her mother. Lorelai was able to calm Luke by explaining that what Rory needed right now was love and support. We need to stay on as even a keel a possible to be there for Rory. Reminding her about Emily is not going to help us with that goal. As much as what Emily did angered both of them, they had to remain strong for Rory.

The doctor arrived and asked Rory if her parents could come in while he spoke to her. She agreed it was fine.

He began to explain the events that caused Rory to have early labor. "Due to hyperventilating, your body was suffering from lack of oxygen. The body is an amazing machine that is designed to protect itself when certain systems go out of whack. So, your body was trying to protect you and the baby. It decided that delivering the baby would help put things back to normal. Does that make sense to you? Do you have any questions for me?"

Rory asked, "Is the baby going to be okay? Will there be any lasting side effects after the baby is born?"

The doctor replied, "You and the baby are both going to be fine. The labor was not strong enough to cause any harm to the baby. I do want to stay on bedrest for the next week and make sure you follow up with your OB within the next day or so. You also need to keep your stress level to a minimum. High stress is not healthy for either of you."

Rory looked at the doctor, "I will try, but the event that lead to this is not anywhere close to being over. It was pretty much life changing. But if it means keeping the baby safe and healthy, you can believe I will do my absolute best. Thank you doctor."

After the doctor explained he was going to discharge Rory, he stressed to all of them that she needed a calm, stress free, and loving environment as much as possible, especially for the next few weeks. Lorelai and Luke assured him they would make that happen. He reminded them about the follow up and asked if they had any questions. They assured him they would take care of Rory and the baby.

Once they were home and had Rory settled in her room, Luke and Lorelai went up to their bedroom to discuss how to handle the "Emily" situation. Both tried to remain calm, although it was extremely difficult. In the end, they decided it would be best if Lorelai called her mom in Cape Cod. She dialed the phone and when Emily picked up Lorelai went right into explaining the events of the previous night, she asked that she not contact any of them or the Huntzbergers about Rory or the baby. Lorelai explained to her mother that her actions put both Rory's and the baby's lives at risk. Emily wanted to downplay her part in what happened to Rory, but Lorelai would have none of it. Lorelai explained that her mother had succeeded in destroying any bond she had with Rory and most likely would never get to see her grandchild. After Lorelai hung up the phone, Luke wrapped her in his arms and congratulated her on staying calm and strong for Rory and the baby. Lorelai began to weep uncontrollably. The emotional impact of the entire event had finally caught up with her.

After following up with her OB, Rory agreed to follow all the rules given her. She did not want to put the baby's life in jeopardy again. Her doctor told her she could work from home as long as she kept her stress level down. Rory explained that she and the baby's father were working on a custody agreement and that might add some stress, but her job at the paper was a cake walk since she started the new schedule. The paper was running as smoothly as possible given the crowded conditions at the office. But she was working on that too. The doctor wanted to see her again in three weeks and until then she was on complete bedrest. She was permitted to shower, and use the bathroom, but that was it. Rory agreed to follow the doctor's orders in order to keep her baby safe.

Once she was back home and settled in bed, Rory called Sean and asked if he could find time to meet with her within the next few days. She also explained that she was on bedrest for the next few weeks and needed to appoint someone to be in charge of opening and closing the office until she was back on her feet. Sean was surprised to hear about Rory's situation and agreed to meet at her house tomorrow morning. He assured her they would be able to work it all out. With that accomplished, Rory thought about Logan. She needed to fill him in and figure out what direction he is leaning as far as custody of the baby. She thought better to call him while home alone and decided it would be best to wait until her mom was home.

When Lorelai arrived home with dinner from the diner, she sat in Rory's room and they watched TV while eating. Luke was on the closing shift so they were on their own until he came home. Rory brought up the idea of calling Logan. Lorelai suggested that maybe she should wait at least a week to let her nerves settle. She assured Rory that if Logan wanted to get in touch with her, he knew how and where to reach her. Rory wanted to explain about the trip to the hospital but Lorelai explained that she already called and discussed that with him while Rory was in the hospital. She didn't tell Rory because they were trying to keep her stress level at a minimum. Rory agreed that was probably the best way to handle it. She asked her mom how Logan took the news and Lorelai explained that he was concerned but understood that a visit from him was probably not the best idea. Lorelai agreed and told Rory she suggested to Logan to wait a week before trying to contact her. Logan told Lorelai he would wait.

The great thing about living in a small town is that everyone is there to help each other out in times of need. Rory was on bedrest for three weeks but the residents of Stars Hollow made sure her days were filled with meals, visitors, and much needed quiet time. Sean stopped by so he and Rory could discuss the remodel of the Gazette office and the hiring of a secretary or possibly two. It seemed that because Bernie Roundbottom was so frugal while running the paper, the budget would allow for the hiring of two secretaries for the office. As far as the remodel, it was in the budget ten years ago but Bernie never used any of the money, so it was sitting there waiting all this time. They may need to get a small loan from the bank to cover the whole renovation. Sean asked Rory to hire an architect to get some plans going and then they would get some bids from a few contractors. Until that was completed, they had no way of knowing if there was enough money already set aside for the renovation. Sean commented that the paper had never run so smoothly before, even if its Editor in Chief was on bedrest. He thanked Rory for taking on the Gazette, wished her and the baby well, and encouraged her to call if she needed anything at all.


End file.
